First a rant: Will someone PLEASE tell the Brookside editors to do a better job? Two of the early scenes in tonight’s story obviously referred to action that was most likely filmed and later edited out. It made NO sense. Come on, Brookside ... Get a grip.
By the way, I’m putting my hand up for Paul Marquess’s job. I have some great ideas. And Jennifer Ellison and Diane Burke would be bricking it too!
The opening scene is a brief one. We witness the Divine Miss D, in a pretty passle of worry. The actress has the most emotive eyes on television, and the Brookie bods are making full use of this feature. Jacqui says nothing, just sits alone and worried, in the Farnham house, her eyes filled with tears. Is this the picture of a woman whose just received a proposal of marriage?
There’s worry in the Murray household as well. It’s the day the GCSE results are due, meaning it’s actually the day before the episode is shown - if that makes sense. Adele sits in the middle of the sitcom sofa, in a physical attitude that resembles someone who’s just eaten a big plate of curry. She grips her stomach nervously. Marty attempts to jolly her, by reminding her that ‘today’s the day’. The girl is petrified. She’s worried that she won’t do well and her parents will have a go at her.
Marty assures his daughter that she’ll do fine, but Diane snipes smugly that Adele had ‘other things on her mind’ at the time of her exams. (Could she be secretly hoping her step-daughter louses up, just for the pleasure of murmuring ‘I told you so’ with a face that resembles that of a cat lapping up cream?)
Adele worries aloud that she should have done more work and more preparation. Marty is hurrying her along to go to the school, but Adele doesn’t want to go. He parents insist, but they also insist that she come straight back after getting the results. As she leaves, they both wish her good luck, that annoying rigor mortis grin stuck like glue onto Diane’s face. Once she’s gone, the pair of them share a fervent wish that the girl will pass her exams.
Max Farnham returns to the Farnham house, looking abashed. As soon as he and Jacqui see each other, they start to talk at once, in that way that only occurs in old films or cutesy cutesy Meg and Tom love stories and exaggerated sitcoms, but never happens in real life. You know ... Both people begin at once and then it’s ‘You first.’ ‘No, you.’ ‘No, I insist’ ...
Anyway, both want to talk ‘about last night.’ Obviously something happened off screen (was edited out, more likely) after Max proposed to Jacqui. Both people want to apologise to each other. Max wants to apologise for being so presumptuous as to propose at all. Apparently, Jacqui gave a rather adverse reaction to his proposal and that’s the reason behind her discomfiture.
She says Max must reckon her strange, to agree to move in with him one minute, and the next, after hearing his proposal, to ‘go all wierd’ on him.
They both feel bad about the situation. Max feels that he’s ruined things between them by such a precipitous act; but Jacqui explains that when she told Max the previous evening that she would think about his proposal, she wasn’t knocking him back. She meant that she wanted to think seriously about his proposal, before giving an answer. (Understandable, considering what she’s been through). Thinking about it didn’t mean ‘no’; it meant ‘maybe’.
Max is encouraged by this explanation and sweeps her into his arms in relief. He had honestly thought that he had scared her off. He tells her again that he loves her. She has no idea how much he loves her and what she means to him.
Jacqui laughs and is embarrassed, telling Max to stop going all Mills and Boon on her.
There’s worry in yet another household. The newlywed O’Learys are having a mega row. Tim is about to go out pounding the pavement in search of work, and reluctantly too. In fact, he doesn’t know why he’s bothering at all.
Emily wastes no time in telling him that he’s bothering because he NEEDS a job, and any job will do, just as long as it’s not dodgy. They couldn’t survive on just her wages, alone. He had to look for a job.
There follows a massive argument, raised voices and the lot. Tim wants to know what the hell Emily thinks he’s been doing for the past month? He has been looking for a job, but - because he’s got a prison record - no one wants to know. So he’s condemned to working all hours in burger bars for 10p an hour.
Emily reiterates how much they need money. They need money? Questions Tim. She means SHE needs money. Emily explains that she’s worried about Tim. She feels if he could just get a job, he’d be safe. The longer he was out of work, the more chance he’d find of getting back to his old ways and he’d end up in prison. After all, Tim packed in the job he had at Better Burgers.
Tim’s had enough of her impersonation of Margi Shadwick. He’s off. And he legs it out of the house. Emily follows close behind, calling after him; but Tim sprints away. By now, she’s in floods of tears as she stands in the middle of the Close. Just then, Adele Murray rounds the corner, having returned from getting her exam results.
Adele greets Emily in a friendly manner, but Emily is distracted and gazes after Tim, only giving Adele a perfunctory greeting. Adele makes small talk, trying to engage Emily in conversation. She thinks Emily and Tim make a lovely couple. But then, noticing Emily looking upset, she asks if Em’s OK. Emily lies and tells Adele she’s fine.
Yes, Adele witters on. The O’Learys are certainly a nice couple. She thinks Tim is very good-looking. Emily is ignoring her banter, gazing down the Close in the direction in which Tim has scarpered. Adele sighs wistfully and continues to flatter Emily. How did Emily like being married? It must be nice to be able to be married and not have to answer to anyone. In fact, Adele wished she were Emily. If she were married or lived on her own, then maybe everyone would leave her alone.
Emily is really crying now, as she turns to walk back into Hotel Corkhill. Again, Adele asks if anything is wrong. Emily sadly remarks that Adele wouldn’t understand, because she’s just a kid.
Adele takes umbrage at that remark. She is anything but a kid, she tells Emily, she’s nearly sixteen. Emily begs off Adele, telling her that she’s not in the mood for chat at the moment.
Well, if that’s Emily’s attitude, Adele remarks in a huff, she won’t bother being so nice the next time, since Emily insisted on treating her like that.
Thinking better of her behaviour, Emily asks Adele in for coffee. Chuffed, Adele tells Emily that she’s just got her exam results. Emily is less than impressed, but she can’t go back on her invitation now; and the two girls head inside.
Jacqui calls at the Dixon house, and Rachel answers the door. Tentatively, Jacqui asks if Ron’s at home, but Rachel assures her that he isn’t. Her emotive eyes sparkling, Jacqui is bursting to tell Rachel. She just has to tell someone her news. Rachel wants to know what the news is.
Jacqui exclaims that Max has proposed to her. Because Rachel is mentally slow, she doesn’t fully understand what Jacqui has said. But she’s heard the word ‘proposal’ and that presses the ‘EEEEEEEEEEEEK!’ button set to instantly react in Rachel’s larynx. It also triggers a hugging reaction and she grasps Jacqui heftily. Suddenly, her brain has caught up with her, and Rachel realises that it’s MAX who’s proposed to Jacqui, and she recoils in horror, as if Jacqui were unclean.
Emily and Adele sit at the Corkhill kitchen table, as Emily meticulously counts out the small change that constitute her sole financial assets - four pounds and some odd pence. That’s all the couple have in the world, she explains to Adele, until Emily gets paid next Wednesday. She and Tim simply could not afford to live off her wages alone.
Adele is sympathetic, but shocked. She never realised Tim and Emily were so poor. Why, Emily had loads of beautiful clothes (clothes bought with a fraudulent credit card or stolen money), and she and Tim always looked so ‘boss’. Emily says that it’s been months since she’s bought anything new and explains that poor Tim is trying to find a job, but he keeps getting knocked back because of his prison record. Adele commiserates. It isn’t fair on Tim, she maintains. He should be given a chance. After all, prison was behind Tim. Emily certainly hopes that’s so.
Why? Adele wants to know. Wnat’s he done? Emily lies and tells Adele that Tim’s done nothing.
Rachel and Jacqui are having a heart-to-heart talk at the Dixons’. Rachel, like the Anthea clone she’s becoming, is naturally suspicious of Jacqui and Max getting together, especially of Jacqui’s motives. Is Jacqui absolutely certain, Rachel asks, that she’s not with Max because of Harry? Jacqui is mildly offended at that assumption (and so she should be. She should ask Rachel, exactly why she’s with Mike. It certainly isn’t for love).
Rachel thinks that Harry is Jacqui’s motive behind getting involved with Max. She understands, the slow-witted woman says, trying to be helpful but being anything but. After all, if someone else had custody of Beth ... (Does she mean that she only married Mike because he was Beth’s father? Now that’s a thought).
Jacqui says stoutly that she loves Emma as much as Harry, and furthermore, she is deeply in love with Max. Max, she says, is brilliant. He’s tender and gentle, he’s good with the kids, and he’s genuinely funny.
Rachel is determined to pick holes. But, she reminds Jacqui, Max’s wife has only been dead a few months.
Ex-wife, corrects Jacqui. (BRAVO! You tell’em, Jax. Max and Susannah were NOT married at the time of her death; ergo, Maxim is NOT a widower. This is indicative of not only Rachel’s but certain other people’s mental thickness in this soap. Anthea and Di Murray spring to mind).
Rachel still persists. Did Jacqui realise that when Max was ready to retire, Jacqui wouldn’t even be forty? (AGE again!)
It isn’t like that, Jacqui tries to explain, becoming exasperated.
The other heart-to-heart continues at Hotel Corkhill. Adele asks Emily if Margi knows that Em’s living her at Jimmy’s. She also wants to know what Margi thinks of Tim and Emily’s marriage. Emily confirms that Margi knows she’s at Hotel Corkhill and also that Margi doesn’t think that Emily’s marriage will last. (Surprise, surprise - do any of us?)
‘What does your dad think?’ Asks Adele. (Now this is stupid. Somehow during the time the Murrays have lived there, you’d think the story of Greg Shadwick would have filtered down to Adele somehow - the most likely source coming from Jessie via Brigid).
Emily explains that her dad is dead. He and her brother were killed in an accident two years ago. In fact, tomorrow’s the anniversary of their deaths. (Sorry, but didn’t that occur in September?) Emily explains that she doesn’t talk about their deaths much, because she cant cope with sympathetic reactions. They set her off in floods of tears.
Adele commiserates because Emily doesn’t have ‘proper family’ to whom she could turn. Well, Emily admits, she still has her Nan and Nikki. But she does miss her mum a lot. She tells Adele how badly she went off the rails after Greg died. She was horrible, really horrible. (This is true). The wounds of his death began to heal, but she wouldn’t ever forget.
She looks at Adele intently, trying to get her to understand. She asks Adele if she’s ever lost anyone in her family that was close to her. Adele squirms a bit. Well, no ... Not really ... Well, sort of.
‘What do you mean "sort of"?’ Demands Em. ‘Either you have or you haven’t.’
Adele confesses that she’s sort of lost someone close recently. She’s ‘sort of’ lost her baby. She’s had an abortion. Emily is gob-smacked, to say the least.
Back at the Dixons’, Rachel is still trying to find fault with Jacqui’s relationship with Max. Doesn’t Jacqui think it’s too soon - after Susannah’s death and after her own involvement with Gobby? Doesn’t she think that it’s rather soon for Max to have proposed at all?
Jacqui tells Rachel quite succinctly, that she and Max were right for each other; and it didn’t matter how long or how short a time they would see each other, they were meant for each other. She honestly believed that. As a matter of fact, Jacqui confesses, she wants to spend the rest of her life with Max.
Rachel admits that she can’t argue with that; and Jacqui surmises that she reckons that means her answer to Max will be ‘yes’.
Over at the Corkhill house, Emily is still in shock after Adele’s disclosure about having had an abortion. Emily quite plainly can’t believe what she’s heard. Specky Murray up the duff and having an abortion! Well, fancy that! Emily tells Adele she always had Adele pegged as some sort of geek.
But she looks at the girl with a sort of new-found respect. Somehow, she admits, Adele doesn’t look the same now. Emily asks Adele how her family took the news of her pregnancy. Adele says that her parents took the news badly. In fact, Antichrist Ant still won’t speak to her.
Adele admits that she only had sex the one time and got pregnant. It was just bad luck. Curious, Emily asks who the father was. Anyone she knew? Emily wouldn’t believe it, says Adele easily. The father was Leo Johnson. Again Emily is shocked.
Adele tells Em that Diane wanted the girl to have the baby. Emily interjects. ‘At your age?! What was she thinking?’
Exactly, says Adele. She was far too young and selfish to bring up a kid at her age. Anyway, she had the abortion, and now the baby’s dead - at least that’s what her family are continuously telling her day and night. Emily asks if Adele’s parents are Catholics. Adele says they are. (Which is strange - because I am distinctly under the impression that Marty Murray is NOT a Catholic - especially his attitudes toward priests and all the bad press paedophile priests have been getting at the moment). Emily nods understandingly in Adele’s direction, cognizant of the Murrays’ reactions.
Adele asks Emily if Em thinks she did the right thing in having an abortion. Emily agrees that she did. Anyway, Emily reassures her, what she got rid of wasn’t a real baby anyway. It was just a mass of cells.
Adele takes heart from this.
Emily asks her if she’s seeing anyone now. ‘Are you kidding?’ Jibes Adele. ‘Specky Murray? Who’d want to be seen with her? No, Leo was just a one-off.’
Emily peers at Adele studiously. Adele would look much better with contacts, Emily observes. After all, men don’t make passes at girls who wear glasses. And some new clothes, not like those dowdy ones she usually wore. Adele admits that she has some new sexy kit, but she didn’t wear them.
Why not? Asks Emily, in disbelief.
Well, Adele explains. She was wearing some of her new gear the night she got it together with Leo. Ever since then, her parents have been looking at her differently - watching her like a hawk in case she tried anything like that again. They were strict with her before; they’re even stricter with her now.
Emily is affronted by this. Why, Adele is nearly sixteen. She’s not a kid anymore. (Funny, about ten minutes before, she was). Did Adele realise that once she was sixteen, she could legally leave home (another resident in Hotel Corkhill?) Adele should point out to her parents that she could wear what she wanted when she wanted. She was an adult now, and there was nothing they could do about it.
(And Shadwick-O’Leary, on the penultimate leg of the Teenage Slapper 4 x 100 relay, triumphantly hands the baton to Murray, who undertakes the last leg of the race! Gold medal for Great Britain).
Back at the Dixons’, Rachel is apologising to Jacqui about her prior negative attitude. ‘Mrs Jacqui Farnham,’ she witters. That will take some getting used to. Rachel can’t wait to tell Mike.
Jacqui rushes to swear her to secrecy. She wants Rachel to keep this a secret from everyone. Rachel is wittering on. Does Jacqui think she’ll have a long engagement? Jacqui admits that she’s dreading telling Ron, but Rachel points out that Ron would have to accept Max if Jacqui were married to him.
Jacqui begins to worry about Ron’s future. What if he goes to prison? Rachel is astounded. Did Jacqui really think Ron would go to prison? (Well, he’s got a good chance, Rache, and you did your utmost to ensure that he’s put there. Feel good about it?)
Omigod! Jacqui is really worried now. What if Ron’s not around for her wedding. She just couldn’t get married without her dad there?
Marty and Diane Murray are pacing the floor of their front room and looking out the front window in anguish. Adele is late returning from getting her results. Where is she, they wonder frantically, obviously thinking that she’s gone off with some other sixteen year-old boy to for a celebratory shag at receiving their results.
Adele arrives, only to be felled from both sides by her demanding parents, badgering her about her whereabouts. Diane shouts that she’s been gone for two-and-a-half hours! Adele cheekily asks if Diane thought she were stupid or something. Diane snidely comments that her parents had PRESUMED Adele had got her results, whilst a worried Marty says that they’d been worried sick. Throroughly annoyed by her parents’ reactions, Adele remarks shortly that she’s been talking with a mate. As for her results, she got 3 A’s and 5 B’s. (Don’t they do 10 GCSE’s in Liverpool?)
Diane and Marty are relieved and pleased. That’s brilliant, exclaims Diane.
‘It’s no big deal,’ shrugs Adele. ‘But maybe now you’ll get off my case.’ And - yes, yes, she does - she flounces from the room.
Katie and Rachel sit in what appears to be the surgery. If it is, someone, preferably Nisha or Do-A-Little should have a word with Katie about personal hygiene. She looks awful. Her hair is almost dripping grease at the moment, and she either needs Di Murray to give the tache above her upper lip a bleach job, or else she needs to buy some Immac.
Katie isn’t mourning Clint anymore - but then, she never has. She is, however, feeling supremely sorry for herself; and as her personal credo is ‘Misery Loves Company’, she’s determined no one around her is going to express any joy either. Watch this segment carefully ... You are about to witness a psychological bully at her best.
Rachel is trying to make small talk, asking poor, pitiful Katie how she’s faring sharing a flat with the Naughty Nurse. Katie admits, half-heartedly, that Nisha is ‘all right’. Only ‘all right’? Queries Rachel. Only ‘all right’ and she’s a flat mate?
Katie says that Nisha’s a good laugh, but then, Nisha didn’t have the history that Katie and Rachel had (or, more to the point, that Katie and Jacqui had, but that would crack Katie’s face too much to admit that).
Well, surmises Rachel Nice-but-Dim, at least Katie had a flat she could call her own. That was more than she and Mike had. The way things were going with them, they would never be able to move out of the Dixon house.
Katie commiserates. It must be absolute hell for Rachel to be forced to live with a cold-blooded murderer like Ron Dixon, not to mention, his evil son Mike. But Katie has an off-the-cuff solution. She suggests that Jacqui should give Rachel and Mike a few bob in order that they could get a place of their own. (Of course, Katie WOULD think that, wouldn’t she? She’s so used to being subsidised in one way, shape or form by Jacqui all those years, she’s probably missing the meal ticket now she’s living with Nisha, Miss Selfish Supreme. It galls me that Katie thinks Jacqui should deny herself any sort of happiness just to finance the lifestyles of people who are basically no more than freeloaders.)
Rachel tries to deflect Katie’s line of conversation by attempting to remain rigidly on the fence. She primly advises Katie that she doesn’t want to be seen to fob off Jacqui’s good nature or expect that Jacqui should pay hers and Mike’s way. Anyway, Jacqui has other things on her mind at the moment, or will have shortly. (One has to remember that Rachel’s mouth and brain are not connected and work independently of one another).
Katie clocks the remark instantly. Uh-oh! What secrets is she trying to hide now, that Jacqui? Katie asks Rachel if Jacqui is still seeing Max. Rachel says that she is. Sensing a big secret from Rachel’s evsive remark, Katie petulantly demands to know if Jacqui is planning on moving in with Max. Rachel is confounded by Katie’s question, and caught off guard, is torn between lying to Katie and frantically trying to figure out the meaning of the word ‘tact’ in order that she might give Katie a harmless reply.
Katie forcefully demands that Rachel answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’. IS JACQUI MOVING IN WITH MAX? Rachel is near tears. Well, yes, Jacqui IS moving in with Max and soon, she says. Then the stupid bimbo jumps in with the other foot and admits that Max has proposed to Jacqui, and that Jacqui planned on accepting.
Katie’s beetle-brows knit together ominously. Why all the big secrecy? Is she ashamed of Max? Does she have something to hide?
Rachel is almost visibly melting into a noxiously nervous blob of jiggling blubber, as she tries to recoup ground here. She’s panicking, trying to convince Katie that Jacqui wanted to keep the proposal quiet for the time being, and wondering how to tactfully tell her the reason for Jacqui’s secrecy was Ron’s predicament.
But she doesn’t have to tell Katie anything of the sort, because Katie, who is the centre of Katie’s own universe, reckons she knows the reason for Jacqui’s secrecy. The reason for Jacqui keeping her engagement a secret was simply because Jacqui didn’t want KATIE to find out about it. Jacqui was just a selfish bitch. (Somehow, the words ‘pot’, ‘kettle’ and ‘black’ come into my mind at this moment).
Katie, bitterly jealous of Jacqui once again, viciously remarks that Jacqui and Max deserve each other.
Tim returns home to Emily at Hotel Corkhill, an apology for his loutish behaviour on his lips. The fact that he didn’t have a job was just doing his head in. Emily asks if he had any luck at the JobCentre.
Tim replies that the only thing on offer to him, with his record, was a job wiping OAP’s backsides 24/7. Emily gets tearful. She’s even more afraid of Tim going back inside. But why? Tim wants to know. Emily confesses that she’s afraid it will be found out that Tim supplied Ron with the gun he used to shoot Clint.
Tim confides to Emily that that won’t happen. He won’t be going back to prison, because Sotto was arrested last week. Ron told the police that Sotto supplied him with the gun, which was technically the truth - he just omitted to say that Sotto gave the gun to Tim to give to him. Tim, he says, is in the clear.
Emily demands to know why Tim didn’t tell her this before. She’s been worried sick. Tim comforts her and tells her that she didn’t need to know.
Jacqui Dixon is walking across the verge from the Garage to The Parade. In the near distance, she spies Katie coming toward her, arms folded, hair dripping grease, and a miserable look on her face. Hesitating briefly, Jacqui passes Katie and greets her briefly, but politely. In true Gobby cowardly fashion, Katie passes and mutters ‘Selfish cow’ under her breath.
Jacqui stops and turns to face the miserable, jealous, little coward.
‘If you’ve got something to say, Katie,’ she calls, ‘I’d prefer you say it to my face. I’m really too old for pulling hair on the playground.’ (Great line, Jacqui).
Katie remarks cattily that she’s heard all about Jacqui’s plan to marry Max Farnham. Jacqui is baffled. Who’s told Katie about this? Just at that moment, Rachel looks frantically out the door of the creche and starts to run toward the confrontation. Jacqui suddenly realises Katie’s informant.
Rachel reaches the two girls, apologising profusely to Jacqui. ‘I might have known,’ Jacqui says to her bitterly. ‘Rachel "Motormouth" Dixon tells the world.’
Katie scurrilously comments that Ma Moffatt was right about Jacqui; she was nothing more than a ruthless bitch. Jacqui would stop at nothing to get what she wanted.
Jacqui just gazes at Katie with a look of profound boredom on her face. One almost expects her to yawn exaggeratedly. (In fact, if I were the director, I would have put that in).
Katie continues hectoring Jacqui. Jacqui should be supremely embarrassed, marrying a man old enough to be her father. (At that moment, Max appears in the background, walking from the restaurant towards the bar. He notices the commotion and approaches).
Katie continues her string of accusations. Why, Jacqui just thought this action would get her a baby on the freebie, so she was more than willing to jump into bed with anybody. She got to Max by crying on his shoulder and playing the damsel in distress. Max begins to tentatively try to get Jacqui to leave with him, whilst silly Rachel is still trying to deflect blame for the rupture from herself.
Katie alleges that Jacqui doesn’t love anyone but herself.
Quiet all this time, Jacqui is now unable to restrain making comment. The problem with Katie, she say, correctly, is that Katie is just jealous. She isn’t grieving for Clint. She’s just using that as an excuse. The truth is, that Katie is jealous that, once again, Jacqui is with someone and Katie isn’t.
Of course, she’s jealous, Katie finally admits. She’s too jealous that Jacqui has a fella and she doesn’t. But she’ll never have a fella now. Ron Dixon’s seen to that. (Sorry, Katie, loov, but Clint wasn’t the prize fish in the sea. There are plenty more like him and plenty better than he in Liverpool. You seriously need either a slap or the axe, preferably the latter).
Max gently leads Jacqui away, whilst Katie is left standing uneasily with Rachel.
(Rant Number 2: I saw this blurb in last week’s Inside Soap. The blurb said that the fight tookplace in the bar, that it happened when Jacqui asks Katie to attend her wedding and that Katie douses Jacqui with a vase of flowers. WHY was this changed to the scene we witnessed? I want a Brookside bod to answer this. We viewers are NOT stupid, but the more intelligent of us are turning off Brookside and treating it like a joke, so all you will be left with ARE the dimwits. Is this what you want?)
Marty Murray is seated at the Murray sitcom table. Diane is calling Adele. It’s lunchtime and as a treat for Adele’s good results, they are having ham butties and trifle. (Yuck. Proof that folk know nowt about eating oop North).
Adele appears, minus her glasses and heavily made up, and wearing one of Kylie Stanlow’s teeshirts. She sits down at the table and peers at the salt and pepper cellars. Noting her lack of glasses, Marty jokingly points out which is which. Adele crankily remarks that she can see.
Immediately suspicious, hypocrite Diane asks the girl where she’s going? And where are her glasses?
Adele testily replies that she’s not going anywhere. What made Diane think that?
Diane remarks that she’s all made up and her eyes look like a panda’s. Why, the make-up’s smudges all over.
Adele puts her glasses on in order to look at her reflection to check her make-up, telling Diane shortly to stop her nagging. As she puts the glasses back on, Marty remarks that she looks more like the old Adele now; and Diane tells her to leave the glasses on. The optician told her to wear them all the time.
Adele wouldn’t have to wear them if she had contacts, the girl replies. In fact, she hates her glasses. Couldn’t she have contacts? Diane refuses. Adele appeals to Marty, but Marty points out that contacts are too expensive. (Er, since when? This is 2001. Contacts are considerably less expensive than glasses). Adele insists. Her birthday is next Friday. Couldn’t she have them for her birthday. Diane remarks shortly, hoping to end the discussion, that they had already got her present.
Marty tries to explain to Adele that they were unable to afford contacts for her as all their spare cash was tied up in the IVF attempt. Adele gets up from the table and - yes, here it comes - flounces off, thanking the pair of them for nothing, over her shoulder.
Max is comforting Jacqui at the Farnham home. Jacqui is crying. She’s explaining to Max that the run-in with Katie spoiled her announcement to him. Katie had tainted everything concerning his proposal. Jacqui had planned to give him her answer over a candlelit dinner and with champers.
Max is in a state of shock. He’s amazed that she’s actually going to say ‘yes’. He didn’t have the nerve to ask. Jacqui stops him from wittering by assuring him that those things Katie said weren’t true.
But she admits that she IS worried about Ron. What about Ron? Asks Max, rhetorically. Once they are married, he’ll have to accept them as a couple.
That’s not what’s worrying Jacqui. She’s afraid Ron will be sentenced to a prison term. Max assures her that Ron won’t because he acted in self-defence. But Jacqui isn’t so sure. What if he went to prison? How could she get married without her father there at the wedding? What she’s trying to tell Max is that she wants to get married within a matter of weeks, in order to ensure that Ron would be able to attend the ceremony.
Max is only too happy to oblige, telling Jacqui that they would tackle Ron first with the announcement, then he would take care of the licences.
Tim and Emily are enjoying a cuddle. Emily again tells Tim that she wishes he’d told her about Sotto last week; it would have saved her some sleepless nights. As a matter of fact, she says, she wants Tim to tell her everything of that sort from now on. And he can feel free to grass on anyone, as long as it keeps him out of prison.
Jacqui and Max ring the doorbell of the Dixon house, and Ron answers. He’s short with a remark: ‘If you’ve come to talk, don’t bother.’ And Ron enters the house, closing the door.
Max is quick off the mark and manages to force his foot in the door frame before Ron can close the door entirely. Max begs Ron to open the door. He can’t go on pretending that Max and Jacqui just aren’t happening as a couple.
Ron opens the door again, but is just as negative. If the pair of them hoped to convince him about their relationship, they could forget the effort.
Max asks Ron to simply listen to them. They were in love. And they wanted Ron to be the first to know that they were getting married. Ron’s face, as they say, is a picture.
Summary © 2001 Marion Watts
Brookside and all related materials are © Mersey Television 1982-2001