The Murray kitchen is a hive of activity this morning, the day after Brigid’s birthday. Adele and the Antichrist are seated at the sitcom table, whilst Diane is at the famous Murray kitchen counter, throwing verbal instructions over her shoulder in Adele’s direction. Adele is leaving today for a cottage in Shropshire to have a holiday with her mate Michelle and Michelle’s mum.
Diane tosses some packets of crisps to Adele, saying they are snacks for her journey. Marty enters the kitchen, dressed in his boiler suit. He’s just finished some sort of job and announces that he has just about enough time for a shave and a shower. Diane ignores him, in fact, rather than ask him to move, she roughly shoves his head out of the way of the wall cabinet, in order to reach something within. She tells Adele that she’ll get the girl some boiled sweets for her car journey when she’s out. Marty volunteers to do that, but again, Diane ignores his presence.
Remembering Diane’s hospital appointment is today, Adele asks if Diane is nervous, but Diane shrugs this query off. It’s just a routine thing. She points out to Adele that the girl’s fleece and her green sweatshirt are in the washer. All she has to do is put them over the radiator a bit and they would be fine. Adele excuses herself to pack. The Antichrist asks if he might watch telly a bit before school. Diane agrees.
When they are alone in the kitchen, Marty offers to make Diane some toast. She brushes the request aside, she’s not hungry. As if to emphasise her point, she begins to bustle aimlessly about the kitchen. Marty suggests that she have a sit-down and put her feet up, but Diane says she isn’t tired. He tells her that he’s given the car a rub-down in her honour, just for the trip to the clinic - figures they’ll leave about half-ten. Diane replies shortly that she’s taking the bus.
Marty tells her not to be daft. The bus would take ages. Anyway, he’s got the car all ready. Diane presumes he must be deaf. She’s taking the bus, she says, flatly.
Later in the day, Leanne and Lance are discussing their situation before a plate consisting of a club sandwich and crisps. Lance patently doesn’t believe Leanne is flush from a win on the horses. And he’s not chuffed about her intention to move. Leanne dismisses him, asking where his sense of adventure is these days. Lance says he’s happy where he is and doesn’t want to go off on some magical mystery tour.
Anyway, Leanne says, she can’t understand why Lance doesn’t believe she won some money on the horses. If she were that Lorraine Kelly woman, Lance would believe her. Lance jumps to Lorraine’s defence, telling Leanne to leave off her.
‘She’s not like that in real life. I tell you, Lance,’ says Leanne, ‘that one’s PAID good wages to be chirpy at seven o’clock in the morning. She takes it home in a wheelbarrow.’
‘You leave our Lorraine alone,’ sniffs Lance. ‘She’s the nation’s icon.’
At that moment, however, Christy Murray enters the bar and orders a pint. Once she sees him, Leanne takes her plate of sandwich and crisps and departs. Lance serves Christy, asking what knock-down gear Christy’s flogging today. Christy assumes Lance is interested, but Lance said he didn’t think the manager would want Christy’s dodgy meat or anything else.
Christy is curious. Manager? Bev back already? That was one short cruise. She must have been on the Wallasey Ferry.
Lance shrugs his shoulders casually as he draws the pint, saying the manager was ‘her that was sat there not five minutes ago’, indicating Leanne’s former perch with his head. Christy looks at him in disbelief. Leanne? Manager?
‘The very dib,’ says Lance. ‘Runs a tight ship too. Well, you can’t be too careful when there’s thousands of pounds at stake. Shame you dropped her. She could have carried you with her ... Right to the top.’ And Lance makes an upward motion with his hand.
Christy, however, is now more than interested in Leanne’s reversal of fortunes
Next we see a waiting room, with a huge mural on the wall, consisting of photographs of happy, smiling babies. A nervous, young couple sit waiting. Beside them sits Diane Murray on her own. She pulls a small vial of urine from her handbag and looks at it longingly, just as a couple in their late thirties emerges from the consultancy room, both with bright smiles on their faces.
Adele Murray sits on the edge of her bed, looking at the prayer card given her by Father Pat. She puts the card in her wallet. Her father appears at her bedroom door, asking tentatively if she’s hiding away. Adele smiles and tells him she’s just packing. She asks why he isn’t at the hospital with Diane. At first, Marty can’t think of an appropriate excuse, but he finally says he didn’t go, because he was here, with his best girl.
Adele is worried about Diane attending the clinic on her own, but Marty assures her that her mother would be all right. Anyway, she didn’t want him to go. Adele says she bet Diane did want him to go. Marty asks Adele if she’s certain she feels up to going on holiday. Yet again, Adele says she feels fine. After a moment, Marty reckons that a bed of nails would be a better alternative to all the hoo-ha that’s been going on in the Murray household, but Adele says, ‘Don’t be soft.’
Marty persists. Still, it can’t have been easy for Adele these past few weeks. The family must be doing her head in. At first, Adele denies this, but finally she admits that she has been seeing a hard time of it, mostly from Ant. This is why she wants to get away on holiday, have a laugh with Michelle, get back to normal and give them a chance to get back to normal too.
Marty says that before he allows her off on this holiday, he wanted to have a word with Michelle’s mum. But Adele assures him that Diane has done that already. She was on to Mrs Tam first thing this morning, and the woman promised to watch Adele like a hawk. Marty smiles and says she sounds like his sort of person.
He says that Adele going on holiday is fine with him, as long as it IS a proper holiday, and not a guilt trip. Adele rests her head on her father’s shoulder.
Christy Murray returns to the bar, popping up beside Leanne, who shouts ‘Customer!’ to Lance. Before she can move, however, Christy starts to speak. He’s brought her a bouquet of freshly picked flowers. ‘Pick them yourself, did you?’ Asks Leanne, sarcastically. Well, er, yes, he did, confesses Christy. There’s a small sunlit corner in Manor Park woods where Christy goes to ‘take five’ from the activity and hubbub of Liverpool. The flowers grew in that little corner of the woods. Leanne is singularly unimpressed. ‘Still full of smackheads andprozzies, is it?’
Lance watches him warily. He wonders aloud if Christy’s change of heart had anything to do with Leanne’s new promotion. Christy scoffs at the notion. The truth is, he missed Leanne. He acted like a cad, and Leanne had every right to ‘chip’ him (recalling the fact that she’d ended their relationship by throwing a tray of chips in his face). What he felt for her, what he FEELS for her, is real passion. He loves her - her cackle, her acid tongue. She never had a good thing to say about anyone, and he admired her for that.
Lance continues to watch the performance with a wry eye, as Mick and Vonnie appear at the bar. Leanne is sceptical. Before their relationship had consisted only of a ‘wham-bam-thank-you-Leanne’, but Christy hastens to explain that he left abruptly everytime because he was afraid of what he felt for her. He lays the flowers on the bar in front of her, as she grabs him suddenly in a ferocious bear hug and lands a giant snog on his kisser.
Lance shakes his head in disgust and turns to serve Mick and Vonnie. ‘Say it with flowers, eh?’ Comments Vonnie, smiling.
Lances tut-tuts, ‘He probably got them off somebody’s grave.’
Mick laughs at that remark, and Vonnie congratulates Lance for being the first person to make Mick laugh that day.
Diane enters the consultancy room and hands her sample to the waiting nurse. She explains that she took a home test the day before, but ... You never can tell. Miracles do happen, she says hopefully.
Back at the Bar, Leanne and Christy are sitting at a table, holding hands. Leanne says that she would like to wait awhile this time, before she and Christy ... You know. (She becomes shy.) Absolutely, Christy agrees. Whenever Leanne’s ready. He’ll wait a lifetime if he has to. ‘This meatman’s in love,’ he declares, as Lance passes by, looking distinctly sick at that remark.
Mick and Vonnie sit at another table. Mick is musing about Adele’s abortion. Somehow, he feels if he and Leo had known about things sooner, they might have been able to do something. At least show they were willing. Vonnie sighs and says that both he and Leo were left reeling by the news. By the time they had recovered, Adele had made her decision. And it was HER decision, emphasises Vonnie. He had to respect that.
Antichrist Ant is in front of the Murray house, bouncing a football. Adele leaves the house and approaches him. She’s going to the garage and wants to know if he wants anything. Ant sullenly replies, ‘No’.
Not to be taken aback by his attitude, Adele walks toward him until she is close by him. ‘Judge not lest ye be judged,’ she quotes (surprisingly from the King James Version of the Bible). ‘That’s what Father Pat said.’
Ant replies (also quoting the King James Version of the Old Testament): ‘Thou shalt not kill.’
Suddenly Adele grabs the bouncing football. ‘You know something, Ant,’ she says. ‘You’re a terrible advertisment for Christianity.’ And she tosses his football away before she walks off.
Diane now sits before her consultant, a middle-aged woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Mandy Jordache with straight hair. There’s a seriously sad look on the consultant’s face. She’s sorry to have to tell Diane that her home pregnancy test WAS accurate. Diane is not pregnant.
Adele and Marty are in the kitchen, Marty making sandwiches for Adele’s journey to Shropshire. He’s joking with the girl, saying that her being away for a fortnight would have its plus points. For one thing, he would be spared having to listen to endless Kate Bush. Adele replies that being away would mean she would be spared endless footie results - but Marty reminds her that it’s July and football season hasn’t started. Adele hadn’t realised that, but she’s quick to point out to Marty that, anyway, he actually fancied Kate Bush, and so did the Plank, for that matter. Fair cop, admits Marty, who also observes that he’d better provide Adele with ‘some spends’.
But Adele isn’t paying attention to him anymore. Her attention has been caught by the unusually quiet entrance of Brigid, who’s carrying something wrapped in aluminium foil. (DOES THE WOMAN EVER KNOCK ON A DOOR OR RING A BELL?)
Brigid appears to look contrite and repentant. She explains to a wordless Marty that the door was open and she just came in as Ant was playing outside. She’d even made Adele some millionaire shortbread for the journey, which Adele says she’ll put with the rest of the supplies. Brigid asks Adele if she’s finished packing, and Adele replies that she hasn’t really started. She leaves the room to finish that task.
After an awkward moment, Marty stiffly asks Brigid if she’ll have a cup of tea. She replies she would love one, if he were making one. She appears to begin a confessional, saying that she hadn’t been able to sleep all night, so she baked for Britain. But her curiosity gets the better of her, and she asks Marty if the Murrays’ hospital appointment had been put back. Marty replies in the negative, which prompts Brigid to ask the whereabouts of Diane - upstairs, she supposes?
Marty susses Brigid and tells her she knows full well where Diane is; she’s at the clinic. Brigid is shocked. Marty actually LET Diane go to the clinic on her own in HER state? What kind of man was he? She thought after yesterday’s performance he woud at least PRETEND to be a good husband.
Trying to stay calm, Marty explains that he didn’t go to the clinic with Diane because she didn’t WANT him to go, but Brigid doesn’t buy that. He should have insisted. Of course, she wanted him to be with her. Marty reiterates that she’ll be all right.
Meanwhile, at said clinic, Diane sits listening to the consultant analyse her predicament. Diane admits that the Murrays were told every step of the way that there was a great possibility that the initial trial would be unsuccessful, but still she had hoped for a miracle. She asks the consultant what happens now - do they defrost the embryos? The woman says if that’s what Diane and Marty want, that would normally be the next step. Diane, sans Marty, explains that her husband couldn’t make the appointment today, that he had a crisis at work.
The consultant explains that usually at this stage, they advise couples to step back and try to look at the situation objectively, perhaps even seek couselling in accepting their plight. Diane firmly rejects that option as ‘not possible’. The consultant goes on to tell Diane that her embryos could be kept frozen for up to 10 years, but they strongly advised against waiting that long - to which Diane jokes that she would be drawing her pension by that time.
The consultant tells her that she’s welcome to have a second try, but warns her that with each successive attempt, they were dealing with diminishing results, due to her age. (I find this remarkable. IVF stands a greater chance of being successful the MORE attempts are made. True there is a law of diminishing averages IF the woman is forty or thereabouts. NOW, when Diane Murray appeared on The Close in 2000, she was 39 - making her 40 this year. Yet earlier this year, when Adele lost her virginity, Diane’s age had been booted back 3 years, to make her 37!!! Have the writers changed their minds again?)
Diane makes a feeble joke about the treatment costing less the second time around because it’s even less successful. The consultant agrees that there are no initial outlay costs, but tells her she has to paint the worst case scenario, so the patient knows all sides of the argument.
Diane quips that she was all for straight talk, but she would find a pack of lies welcome in this instance. The consultant says, hand on heart, at her home, she has a wallfull of pictures of happy babies who were the result of successful treatments. But Diane sadly surmises that the consultant doesn’t think she’ll ever have a picture of Diane’s baby on the wall. The woman admits that she really doesn’t know.
Leanne enters Bev’s office, followed closely by Christy, who shuts the door. Leanne has been sent by Lance for some change for the till, and she’s moaning that Lance always seems to be providing that Jackie Corkhill with change. Christy stops her abruptly, asking if she likes Charlie Rich. Without any other prompting, Christy begins to sing ‘Behind Closed Doors’:
‘When we get behind closed doors,
And she lets her hair hang down,
Then she makes me glad that I’m a man,
Oh no one knows what goes on behind closed doors.’
Hearing that touching rendition, Leanne grapples him in a headlock and the couple sink to the floor in passion.
Meanwhile, back at the Murray hacienda, Brigid and Marty are working up a right old ding-dong. Marty says that Brigid appears to think Diane is some sort of fragile, stray, little waif who has to be protected. In fact, she can more than hold her own in that household. Brigid re-emphasises the state Diane was in after the goings-on of the past few weeks, and still Marty allowed her to go to the clinic on her own.
Marty replies that Brigid doesn’t know Diane at all. She treats her as though she were a cross between some delicate little girl and some sort of saint. Brigid reminds him that Diane is just the latter, for having taken on him in his situation - a divorced man with three children. Why, look at the way she skivvied for those kids - cooking for them, cleaning for them, nursing them. Marty reminds her that that’s called ‘being a mother’. And anyway, he’s stood beside her enough times to hear comments from other people like, ‘Three kids and you took that on! I wouldn’t touch that with a barge pole’.
Brigid rejoinders that funny enough, Diane has always considered herself the lucky one in finding Marty. She used to tell Brigid all the time about how she had it all when she got Marty. And what about the other side of the coin, asks Marty. What about what WE give HER? A stable family environment, lots of love and support and a ready-made family. Some women would kill to have that on a plate, he says. But Diane’s done a ‘U-ie’ of late hasn’t she? All that wasn’t enough for RDiane, now she has to have a new baby to go with her new house.
And why shouldn’t she have a baby of her own? Asks Brigid. And that was your agenda all along too, wasn’t it, remarks Marty to her, sussing her intent. That was your real reason for giving us the three grand, he continues.To get a grandchild of your own, but it didn’t come without a lecture from Saint Brigid, on the immorality of IVF. Hiding behind the Church, Brigid.
Brigid wants to know what kind of man Marty is - someone who would go to the ends of the earth to have one baby and to the top of the street to kill another. Marty reminds her that he was acting on the best interests for his daughter. Brigid observes that that was Marty’s particular problem all along - he’d never really accepted either Diane or her as part of their family. Marty denies this, but Brigid scoffs that she was always used as an unpaid babysitter, so the pair of them could work.
Marty said that Diane and Brigid had pillioried him when all he did was offer unconditional love and support to his, correction THEIR daughter in her time of need. Brigid argues that that’s exactly what she tried to do as well. Marty denies this, accusing Brigid again of using the Church to hide the fact from Adele that her grandmother was a BIBLE-BASHING BULLY. But then, Adele wasn’t REALLY her granddaughter, was she? Or else, Brigid wouldn’t have been so cruel as to condemn her to having a child when she was only a child, herself.
Brigid replies stoutly that she loves ALL her grandchildren. She then accuses Marty of using Diane. Oh, he was fine as long as she was the dutiful little wifey, cooking and cleaning; but as soon as she ventured an opinion of her own, as soon as she stuck her oar in regarding Adele, she was relegated to the position of step-mother. Marty says that he does nothing BUT listen to Diane’s opinion; he can’t avoid it.
Brigid suddenly admits ferociously that she wished Diane had never married anyone with ties. Putting his face close to hers, Marty replies viciously, ‘You know what, Brigid? So do I.’
He carries on his part of the argument, walking away from her into the lounge, where he encounters Antony, who’d entered the house and heard the majority of the argument. Brigid follows, hammering away verbally until she, too, is stopped short by Antony’s presence. The Antichrist has been crying and demands to know if it’s true his dad let Diane go to the hospital on her own.
Back in the office at Bev’s Bar, Leanne and Christy rise from their moment of passion on the floor. Leanne gazes with the afterglow of satisfaction, first and Christy, then at the keys in Bev’s safe. She takes the keys and loops them over one finger, whilst she embraces Christy, announcing that she’s got everything she ever wanted in the world.
Mick and Vonnie stroll arm and arm away from the bar. Mick’s in a pensive mood. He’s taking stock of his life at the moment. Gemma and Leo have both left home; he ALMOST married Susannah, and now she’s gone; he ALMOST became a granddad. Makes one think about one’s life. Vonnie offers a comment with a dib from Shakespeare about ‘this mortal coil’. Mick admits he IS thinking about making changes to his present life and the two walk off toward the Close.
Diane Murray, having returned home, sits in the kitchen, comforting a sobbing Antichrist. She’s not at all pleased about the turn of events that’s occurred in her absence. In an annoyed tone of voice, she asks Marty, hovering in the background, where ‘Tilly Mint’ (meaning Adele) was when all this brouhaha with Brigid took place. Marty remarks that Adele was upstairs listening to her Discman. Diane remarks with a huff that it was just as well that she was.
Leanne finally emerges from her rendezvous in the office, her clothing awry and a ridiculously happy look on her face. Lance remarks with disgust at the state of her, as he plops a bottle of champers and a glass on the bar (presumably, Leanne sits around all day barking orders and drinking up Bev’s profits in champagne). He tidies her clothes up, nagging her that she went into the office an hour ago to get some change for the tills and she still hadn’t brought it out. Leanne apologises, saying she got waylaid. Lance bustles off muttering about how he has to do everything around the bar, himself.
Adele Murray is all packed and ready to leave for her holiday. She and her parents stand in the foyer of the Murray house, awaiting the arrival of Michelle and her mum. Diane is giving the girls last minute instructions. Has she packed her extra fleece? Will she make sure that she rings home as soon as she arrives? Adele agrees to do all of these things. She asks the whereabouts of Ant and how he is. Diane confirms that he’s upstairs, suffering from a headache at the moment.
Adele hugs Diane and thanks her for letting her go on holiday. The girl then tells Diane that she’s sorry her stepmother isn’t pregnant. She really wanted her to have a baby, really, really. Diane makes a feeble attempt at a joke, saying there were plenty more embryos where those came from - well, at least there were four. Marty hovers, again, in the background.
At that moment, a car horn sounds and Adele says her good-byes.
Over on The Parade, Leanne and Lance scurry from the garage, having purchased ice lollies. Lance is moaning about the fact that, at the end of a long day, Leanne expects him to go with her to view a flat into which she proposes to move. He’s tired and he doesn’t want to move, anyway. ‘Some of us have been on our feet all day,’ he notes.
‘And some of us have been on our backs all day,’ Leanne quips. With the camera on Leanne, we see the remains of a love-bite on her neck. She stops in the middle of the verge on The Parade, announcing to Lance that they had arrived at their flat. Lance looks around uncomprehendingly. Does Leanne propose that they are going to doss down on The Parade?
With a mischievous look on her face, Leanne points to Bev’s flat, saying that they were moving in there. She informs Lance that she had an e-mail from Bev earlier today, asking her to look after the flat while Bev was away (as if). Lance is dubious. Maybe Bev wanted Leanne to look after the flat, but she didn’t want Lance anywhere near it. Leanne tells Lance that she told Bev that she would only look after the flat on one condition - that Lance be allowed to live there too. She invites him to look at it with her. Unable to suppress his glee, Lance starts wittering about having a balcony. As the scoot off upstairs, he asks Leanne about her winnings on the horses, but Leanne laughingly tells him that her choices were disqualified - something about illegal use of the whip.
Diane Murray is in Adele’s vacant room, folding some clothes and tidying up. Marty enters, quietly thanking her for giving Adele a good send-off. Diane sarcastically remarks that she’s done what any other mother would have done. Marty, very somber, then apologises for the fact that Diane isn’t pregnant. Diane shrugs her shoulders, feigning indifference, and remarking that maybe the fact she wasn’t pregnant was a blessing in disguise, before pushing past him to go downstairs.
Vonnie is on her knees, trying to look like she’s taking an interest in keeping Mick’s front garden tidy. He emerges from the house, carrying two mugs of tea. There are three mugs in this scene - the two carried by Mick and Mick, himself. Vonnie admits she’s trying to impress him - you know, font of all knowledge, garden goddess. Mick smiles and gazes thoughtfully at the Murray house.
He admits that it isn’t going to be easy living opposite the family, after what’s happened - either for him or for Leo, when he visits. Vonnie remarks that it probably isn’t going to be easy for Adele either, and she plants a comforting kiss on Mick’s cheek. Mick’s glad she did that, because it will make what he’s about to say a lot easier.
Before he can continue, Vonnie begs him to stop, pointing out that he, himself, admitted he was vulnerable - with everything that’s happened the past few days as well as losing Susannah.
Mick tells Vonnie that he isn’t using her to plug some gap in his life. He’s thought about it long and hard and he truly wants her to share his life with him. He doesn’t want her to get away.
Diane is now in her kitchen, scouring the hob furiously. Marty follows her into the room, standing quietly for a moment. Without looking at him, she announces that she’s going over to her mum’s for a few hours. Marty then asks what she meant by saying that the fact she wasn’t pregnant was a blessing in disguise. Diane turns around to face him, telling him that she isn’t so sure she wants his baby now. Marty replies that he wished he’d known that a few months ago, or rather three thousand pounds ago.
Diane comments that that sort of remark was just typical of Marty. After all, what kind of man would drive his daughter to get an abortion and reduce his youngest son to a quivering wreck upstairs? Marty answers, in his defence, that her mother had a major hand in the latter incident, to which Diane replies that she’d have plenty to say to her on the subject and all.
She doesn’t think she knows Marty at all anymore. ‘You’re not the man I married,’ she observes, sharply.
‘And you’re a hypocrite,’ he accuses. ‘Hiding behind the Church when it suits you.’ He continues by telling her that he could accept Brigid for what she was, even respect her - at least she was solid in her beliefs - anti-abortion, anti-everything, straight down the line, like a good Catholic, never deviating. But Diane - Diane had her own agenda and he’s sussed it.
She didn’t fool Marty. She had her reasons for forcing Adele to have that baby. Because she thought it would give both her and Marty a chance to play mummies and daddies, but it didn’t work. Because she didn’t once stop to even fathom what giving birth at her age would do to Adele. He walks away from her into the lounge.
This time, it’s Diane who follows, removing her rubber cleaning gloves. She replies to his accusation by sarcastically remarking that of course she wouldn’t sympathy for Adele’s plight. She wasn’t a REAL mother, was she? And as Marty walks away from her, she accuses him of having his own agenda too. In fact, Marty seemed particularly adamant that Adele should have an abortion, especially after he found out that the baby was going to be black. Marty turns slowly to meet her accusation, ‘That’s right,’ he jeers, ‘use any opportunity to sling mud in the hopes that some of it will stick.’
She accuses him of not being able to cope with having a black grandchild. Marty sarcastically asks her to excuse him as he has a Klan meeting at 5 o’clock, before telling her to get a life and try to stop running everyone else’s.
The couple continue arguing, actually musing if their marriage is all it’s cracked up to be, as the camera pans to the group of happy family photos on the Murray sideboard.
Summary © 2001 Marion Watts
Brookside and all related materials are © Mersey Television 1982-2001