No 32
Lauren comes into the garden to find Brad loading wood into the shed. She says Paige told her he would be, and that it's fine - but that she hopes it won't upset Terese. Brad says everything he does seems to upset Terese.

BRAD: I wonder if she still wants to be married to me.

No 22
Terese stares at the 'I regret getting married' secret that someone entrusted to Sonya.

No 32
Lauren says that every married couple feels like that sometimes, and asks if Brad wants to come in for a coffee. He says he's got a student running session so has to go, but thanks Lauren for letting him use her shed.

BRAD: In fact, why don't you grab a nice piece of wood, and I'll make you something special?
LAUREN: Okay, sure. That can be your rent!

No 22
Terese drops the piece of paper and walks out of the door.

No 32
Amber tells Lauren she had planned to use the shed as a photography dark-room, and Lauren says Brad will move the wood any time they need him to.

AMBER: Are you sure you want to give him another excuse to come over more?

But Lauren says Paige just wanted to help out her dad. Lauren also tells Amber that she's reworked her hours at Harold's so that she can work more hours at the daycare centre, as she's seen how happy it makes her.

LAUREN: You're obviously a natural.

Amber admits she's enjoying it, as it's given her a confidence boost. Terese comes around the side of the house, asking if Lauren's seen Brad. Lauren says she's just missed him; he's gone to train his running group. Lauren offers Terese afternoon tea, but she quickly says she's working, and disappears again. Amber gives Lauren a look.

No 22
Terese texts Brad, asking him to come home ASAP. Glancing at the 'secret' on the table, she goes to fetch a wine glass, then stares at a wine bottle contemplatively.

The Waterhole
Nate and Tyler have been having fun with Tyler's toy car, and are now having a drink with Russell and Aaron. Aaron suggests they should build some kind of obstacle course to run the car on; and Nate suggests they could attach a camera to the car and film it for Toadie. Karl joins them, and offers to donate some 'stuff' from his house to build a track. They all agree to convene on Ramsay Street.

Karl, Aaron and Nate depart, leaving Tyler and Russell together. Things remain a little awkward. Russell tells Tyler he's decided to stick around in Erinsborough, despite not being able to afford the garage.

RUSSELL: There's still a lot of other reasons to stay.
TYLER: Yeah, good one. Anyway, we'd better catch up with the others.

Ramsay Street
Tyler, Russell, Aaron, Karl and Nate are racing toy cars on Ramsay Street, around a makeshift obstacle track - including a car with a camera attached, so we get a 'car's eye view'. Aaron is having trouble with the controls, so Nate shows him the ropes, leading to some lingering hand contact.

Paige turns up, and the boys suggest that she should be their 'grid girl', and start the next race. Paige accuses them of being sexist.

PAIGE: I was not put on this earth to be decorative for the benefit of men.
NATE: Hey, I don't see you as an object!
KARL: No, neither do I!
AARON: Don't politicise it - it's tradition, not sexism.
PAIGE: Are you kidding me?
AARON: Hey, hey - I'd be honoured if someone asked me to get up in front of an adoring crowd. Get to show off my bod! Start the race any time.
PAIGE: Disappointing, boys. Very disappointing.
KARL: Ah-ah-ah. Men, not boys - just because we're playing with toys, doesn't make us boys!

Paige goes off into the house.

No 32
Paige finds support from Lauren and Amber for her assertion that the men of Ramsay Street are being sexist asking her to be 'grid girl'. Lauren compares it to the phenomenon of female TV game show assistants.

LAUREN: Imagine if a woman was the host, while a scantily clad man paraded around waving his arms in the air.

They all laugh.

PAIGE: We really shouldn't find that funny.
AMBER: No, and women should be gameshow hosts.
PAIGE: Yeah, I'm totally for that.
LAUREN: And they should be the damn racing car drivers too.
PAIGE: Hell, yes!
LAUREN: Well come on, girls. What's stopping us from doing it? We will destroy those boys on behalf of all womankind, absent and present.

No 22
Brad comes in, having received Terese's text. He finds her drinking a glass of wine, and is annoyed as they're supposed to be doing Alcohol-Free August.

TERESE: I don't care about that anymore.
BRAD: What's wrong?

Terese passes him the 'secret'.

TERESE: You know, when I had doubts about us, I admitted it. I moved out, I worked through it, even though I looked like the bad guy. But when you have doubts, you squirrel them away, keep them a secret. All the while, making me the scapegoat for our marriage problems. Complaining 'my wife doesn't understand me'. But you haven't given your wife a chance to understand you. And I'm left to shoulder the blame, while you walk around hiding your feelings, playing Mr Nice Guy. You know, it is so dishonest. At least I let you know where I stand.
BRAD: You do. And it's nice to know what you really think of me. But I didn't write that.
TERESE: How can I be so sure?
BRAD: I am your husband, okay? You are supposed to trust me.

Terese doesn't believe him, reminding him that it was written around the time of their separation. But Brad insists he's telling the truth, and says he can't keep repeating the cycle of her doubting him. He announces he's going out to play toy cars with the others.

TERESE: Oh, fine. 'Cause they're fun and I'm not. I'm just your complaining wife.
BRAD: You said it.
TERESE: What about the letter?
BRAD: You can go on believing I wrote that, if it makes you happy. I am past caring.

Shortly afterwards, Terese watches through the window as Brad joins the other men to have fun on Ramsay Street.

Ramsay Street
The car racing continues, as Lauren and Paige turn up to issue a formal challenge. Paige will be 'grid girl', provided that there is also a 'grid boy', and that the women will get to pit their champion against the boys.

BOYS: Men!

The boys accept the boys/girls challenge and decide that Aaron will be their grid guy.

No 22
Terese continues to watch through the window sadly. She goes to the sink, pours away her glass of wine, and the rest of the bottle for good measure.

No 28
Karl steals some of Susan's gourmet nuts from the cupboard, to share with the other blokes. He asks after Brad's problems with Terese, but he says he doesn't want to think about her right now - he just wants to have fun. Stickybeak Susan comes in and overhears this, looking concerned. Brad takes some crisps outside for the others, while Karl quickly hides the gourmet nuts up his shirt!

SUSAN: Hey, everything alright with Brad and Terese?
KARL: Susan, we made a decision not to get involved in that.
SUSAN: I know, we don't have to talk about them; I'm just a bit worried, that's all.

Susan considers going round to check on Terese; Karl says that's up to her.

SUSAN: I saw the nuts.

Karl sheepishly exits.

Ramsay Street
Paige introduces the blokes to the 'Women's Car Racing Champion of Ramsay Street - Miss Lauren Turner.' Everyone cheers. Tyler prepares to take Lauren on, but Paige reminds them that the grid guy is not present yet. Sure enough, Aaron re-emerges in slow motion, in a fairly skintight yellow outfit! Nate's eyes follow him across the street!

The grid girl and guy wave the flags, and the race begins...

No 22
Susan has come round to see Terese. She suggests Terese could join the others with the car race, but Terese says she wouldn't want to ruin it for Brad. She quickly admits they're having problems, and tearfully tells Susan she feels like she's making a mess of everything, and driving Brad crazy. She shows Susan the 'secret' that Paul gave her. Susan hugs her as Terese worries that she's ruined her marriage.

Ramsay Street
The race is still going on...

No 22
A still tearful Terese admits to Susan that she thought it made sense to learn Brad had never been happy in their marriage, but that it seems she jumped to the wrong conclusion about him writing the secret.

TERESE: But it's all too late now. I attacked him and he's made it very clear that he's fed up with me.

Susan insists he wouldn't have meant it, and that Terese should sort it out with Brad. But she says that every time she tries, they end up having a bigger fight. Terese doesn't know how to fix it, and Susan suggests she needs to start by trusting Brad.

TERESE: I know that, and I tell myself that. But then my husband goes and puts his wood in her shed!

They both laugh.

TERESE: I don't want to even think how that sounds.
SUSAN: It's like you said, it's a vicious cycle. But it has to end.

Terese nods and smiles through the tears.

Ramsay Street
The car race continues around the obstacle course, until Lauren eventually wins, much to her and Paige's delight. Karl berates Tyler for not doing better! She and Tyler shake hands, and Lauren explains that she spent hours racing cars with her sons Mason and Bailey, which is why she's so good.

LAUREN: You should see me on a gaming console!

The Waterhole
Paige, Lauren, Nate, Tyler and Karl are having a celebratory post-match drink. Getting a moment alone with Tyler, Karl gives him 'full credit' for giving his dad another chance, saying that Russell is a 'lucky guy'. Karl and Lauren decide to head home, while Paige challenges Tyler and Nate to a game of pool 'to keep the sweet taste of victory going'.

Nate notices Tyler looking at Paige, and asks if he's sure he's over her. Tyler denies that he was looking at her, but Nate is sceptical.

Lassiter's Lake
Brad is gazing at the water, when Lauren comes to join him. As they talk, they watch two young lover extras meeting at the rotunda across the lake.

LAUREN: You didn't come and celebrate my jaw-dropping victory.
BRAD: I just needed a bit of quiet time.
LAUREN: Was it that painful? Was I a bad winner?
BRAD: No, not at all. It was the opposite.
LAUREN: I've always loved it here.
BRAD: Yeah, it's one of my favourite spots, too. Do you remember we used to meet here at night?
LAUREN: It was a long time ago. Twenty years.
BRAD: You know, I was watching you before, and I've always admired your positivity. You've got such a great outlook on life.
LAUREN: So do you.
BRAD: We've always been drawn to each other.
LAUREN: Brad, is it a bad idea, saying this stuff, talking about it? We've already agreed there's a line we won't cross.
BRAD: Doesn't mean our feelings go away. You know, I felt guilty back then. Now I feel guilty and we haven't even done anything.
LAUREN: We are doing something. Talking like this is doing something. Makes us complicit. And I'm sure Terese senses it. Probably sending her crazy. We never did get our timing right, did we? But we'll always be connected through Paige. She's ours. Well, the symbol of us. The rest is history.

The Waterhole
Paige is playing pool with Nate, and is wondering why Tyler's taken off home. Nate says that's a good question. Brad comes in, and Paige offers him the chance to be her next pool victim.

Brad agrees to a game, then goes to order a lemon squash from Sheila. She remarks how well his Alcohol-Free August is going, but Brad admits Terese has fallen off the wagon, so he's not sure if it's fair to collect the sponsorship money. He adds that she's been pretty stressed; and Sheila admits to Brad that she recently caught Terese stealing wine from the storeroom.

SHEILA: I hate to say it, but I think your wife has a serious problem with alcohol.

Next Time
- Brad asks Terese if she thinks she has an alcohol problem
- Josh tells Brad and Imogen that Terese has something she wants to say to them
- Terese presents Sonya with the 'I regret getting married' secret that Paul gave to her
- Toadie rails against Sonya's attempts to help as he struggles to come to terms with his paralysis