Well, it's here - the day when Margi finally ups sticks and disappears off to Brussels. Still never mind, I'm sure that we'll still be able to hear her from there! The arrangements have been made, the passport has been found (that seemed like a bit of last minute thought - remembering that she'd need her passport!), Emily is going to Jessie's, Nikki will shortly be moving in with Bernie and the bungalow will.... er, pass.
Naturally, Margi's having some second thoughts about leaving. She fears that she's abandoning her daughters, especially since Luke Musgrove is still around and Emily, after all, is only a kid. Jessie talks her round, saying "You've got to take this chance while it's there". There's a tearful departure scene and Margi drives off. Once Margi has gone and Jessie has taken Emily back to her place, Nikki is left to ponder uneasily, her first night in the bungalow on her own.
I wonder what Margi will say, upon arrival in Brussels when someone asks what made her take a job in another country, eh? I suppose she'll prattle on and blurt out the whole story to some unsuspecting stranger - they'll soon regret asking *that* question!
Talking about blurting out details and secrets, Lindsey's at it again. Shelley has returned and this time R'Linds is telling her all about her dealings with Barry Grant (hey, he'd surely have something to say about Shelley's sexuality, wouldn't he?!). Anyway, Shelley isn't impressed with these latest revelations, any more than she was with yesterday's.
"Why can't you accept me for what I am, like I did with you?" Lindsey asks.
That remark got Shelley's back up and Lindsey had little choice but to apologise.
"Sorry, that came out wrong."
Lindsey is trying to convince Shelley that her business dealings are actually quite normal but she's rather making a hash of it. One minute Linds is laughing off Shelley's assertion that she's a gangster and the next she's suggesting that "for your own good, it might be better if you didn't know everything".
But no, she doesn't actually stop there - she carries on and goes into details about Callum, his threats, how he had her beaten up and how grateful she was when Shelley offered her somewhere to stay.
Shelley is nonplussed. "You used my house as a hideaway?" she asks incredulously. "I'm sorry Lindsey, but I live in a world of wallpaper designs and soft furnishings, not punishment beatings and violence."
And with that, she walks off again.
Outside Number Nine, Alec is clearing leaves for Nathan and Darren until, that is, his back goes. He's stuck doubled-over with his body at a right angle to his legs. Darren rushes to his aid and comically tries to manhandle him into his car in order that he can get him to the surgery for examination. In between cries of "ooh" and "argh", Alec's head is smacked into Darren's car door. (Shouldn't laugh really, but LOL!)
At the surgery, poor Alec is manhandled again, this time onto a bed where he's left lying on his back but with his legs sticking up in the air! Having been announced fit, Alec is advised to take things easy for a while and is told to rest.
Back on the Close, Kelly has come home for lunch and surprised not to find Alec there. Instead she ends up inviting Leo for lunch instead. Upon his return, Alec expresses dismay at Kelly's choice of guest and chucks Leo out.
"Listen, this cheeky get [Leo] was giving me all kinds of lip in the residents' meeting the other week," he tells Kelly. "I'm not having him in my home eating my soup."
Despite this, Kelly still arranges to go out with him on Friday night.
Vic and Mark have turned up to collect some more of Vic's things from Number Nine. Mark, particularly, is keen to talk about a forthcoming holiday they've booked to Mexico. Vic tries to convince Nathan that she knows what she is doing getting back with Mark:
"The last couple of weeks have been like getting the *old* Mark back," she tells him. Unfortunately, Darren walks in just as she says this. Vic looks wounded when she realises that Darren overheard.
Mark is outside carting boxes to the car, but slips and sprains his ankle. Darren examines it and advises Vic to get it x-rayed just to be on the safe side. He then takes the opportunity to remark that hospital visits are likely to become a way of life if she's to remain with Mark.
Nathan isn't impressed with Vic and Darren's games and calls them both pathetic. He then berates Darren for hiding his true feelings.
"Every time I see her I want to throw my arms around her," Darren admits.
"Then do it," replies Nathan.
"I can't. I just can't."
"You've got to decide whether you're really prepared to let Vic go," Nathan tells him.
And yes, Charlotte walks in just as Nathan says this. Even if she'd heard, I'm not sure that she'd have put two and two together!
Episode written by Roy Boulter
Summary © 1999 Graeme Selway
Brookside and all related materials are © Mersey Television 1982-2001