Recap
- Steph keeping her divorce papers a secret from Toadie
- Carmella inviting Marco to live with her
- Steph and Libby getting all Coyote Ugly in Shep
- Toadie moping about back home after finding the papers
Charlie's
Dan asks Toadie if he'll be at footy training that evening, and Toadie practically bites his head off about it. Valda whisks Toadie away and tries to placate him, but Toadie knows that Steph was keeping the divorce papers a secret so she'd still have an excuse not to marry him. Valda reminds him that Steph's wearing the engagement ring on her finger now, and that's got to count for something, but Toadie doesn't look convinced.
Pub in Shepparton
Two admirers - Ky and Pete - come over and chat to Lib and Steph. The actor who plays Ky played another character a while back who taught dance lessons at the Scarlet Bar, so I have an awful feeling about what's going to happen... Oh, yep, he just lead Lib on the bar for some more bootscootin'. (And the Pete actor was the air guitar champ from a while back, too!).
General Store
Brad, Riley and Elle are conducting a meeting while some conveniently timed carpentry is going on in the background. Every bit of noise reminds Elle of the warehouse collapse and she keeps flashing back to the disaster (or she could just be petrified of Riley's clothing disaster back then - burn the paisley shirt!). Even more conveniently, Brad assigns Elle to a story on Jessica's mum and the memorial she wants to build at the warehouse of doom. Noticing how stressed out Elle is, Riley offers to tag along with her.
Carmella & Marco's Flat
With Chloe crying in the background, Carmella and Marco talk about how cramped the flat is now Marco's belongings are in there. Marco serves Carmella some food he just whipped up and reveals that he always wanted to open up his own restaurant one day, but he had to settle for taking over the family business instead.
Pub in Shepparton
Steph tries to get Libby to jump down from the bar but she's having too much fun. Valda rings Steph and divulges that Toadie knows all about the divorce papers and isn't too happy about it. She offers to put Toadie on the phone so they can chat, but Steph clams up and says she'd rather talk to him face to face when she gets back. Valda warns her not to leave it too late for both their sakes.
Libby bounds over to ask Steph what's wrong, and Steph says she needs to head home to sort some stuff out. Lib's all for that idea - it seems Ky has taken to dancing by himself on the bar anyway. Ohh, the end of this scene is so painfully lame and it doesn't cut away quick enough, so my eyes are burnt with the image of Ky doing a Michael Jackson crotch grab. How vomitatious
Libby's House
Up to speed on everything, Lib wants Steph to honestly tell her if she wants to marry Toadie or not, but Steph can't give her a straight answer. Steph confesses that she thought if she could put off re-marrying for long enough then Toadie would eventually realise they're fine just the way they are. Lib reasons that marriage can work if you're with the right person, and admits that she couldn't marry Darren because it would have been nowhere near as perfect as her marriage with Drew. Steph's conflicted - she doesn't want to lose Toad, but she doesn't know what to do.
Number 26
Riley reads aloud the Valentine's Day card Steve has written for Didge.
We've had our falling outs
Quite a few
But I never could have wished for
Someone more adorable than you
Riley thinks it's really daggy but Steve just wants Bridget to know how proud he is of her for walking unaided. He reckons she'll be stoked to get it. Strolling in without even a hint of a limp, Didge pours herself a drink with her bad hand while the boys hide the card. She's completely cured! It's a Valentine's Day miracle!
Carmella & Marco's Flat
There's more chit chat about how cramped the place is until Marco brings up the idea of them buying #26 together. Carmella's giddy. Whoopee.
General Store
Toadie scrolls through his mobile (which only appears to have five numbers listed in the phone book - and there's not even a 'Stonie' after Steph it's 'THRUconnect'), but decides against ringing his freaked out fiancée. Dan bumps into him and says it was good to see him at training after all, and the boys joke with Harold about Harold almost taking Toadie's spot on the team.
Riley and Steve hang back at the counter while Didge opens up her Valentine's Day card at a table. Steve's very pleased with himself but Riley's still wary - and so he should be, because Didge has a dreamy look on her face that would prove to be quite icky if she were actually thinking about her dear old dad.
Carmella & Marco's Flat
Marco excitedly babbles about #26 but Carmella has changed her mind and wants him to buy his own restaurant instead. But Marco's all "today's a day for bigger dreams" and convinces her that they should buy the house. Across town, Lanzini's breathes a huge sigh of relief.
Warehouse
Elle interviews Mrs Wallace out the front of the warehouse while Riley snaps some pics, but every little noise around the place makes Elle jump in fright. When Mrs Wallace starts to cry, Elle can't hack it and walks away to try and catch her breath.
General Store
Didge finds Declan and tells him off for sending her the card (but they share a little 'Yay! You're off your walker!' moment first). Didge isn't impressed that Declan has gone against her wishes and that "no means no", but Declan replies that he didn't send it. Bringing over a milkshake, Harold spots the card and beams at them while Didge wishes for the ground to open up and swallow her.
HAROLD: Ahh, Valentine's Day. (Affectionately pats Didge and Declan on the back) Young love, ay!
Highly embarrassed, Didge is probably pleased she can run now as she practically sprints out the shop while Declan chuckles to himself.
Number 26
Steve's messing up the house by throwing around some of Mickey's toys when Didge bursts in and blames him for her making a fool of herself. Apologetic, Steve thought she'd be able to recognize his writing, but Didge points out that he wrote everything in capitals! Steve offers to go and have a chat with Declan to sort everything out, but this only makes Didge even more mortified. It's bad enough that she's the type of loser who only gets Valentine's Day cards from her dad - she doesn't want the whole world knowing about it!
Libby's House
Libby and Steph almost get blown away while they sit and have coffee on the windy balcony. Steph's had a sleepless night and doesn't know why she's so freaked out - Toadie's dependable, great with Charlie, funny etc. But Lib has to wonder if that's the problem - is Steph only with Toadie *because* of the comfort factor? Scoffing, Steph replies that her feelings go deeper than that.
LIBBY: Alright, one last question. Do you love Toadie like a lover or like a friend?
STEPH: (put on the spot) ... Oh, Libby.
LIBBY: Come on, it's time to decide which one it is and tell him.
Giving in, Steph agrees to ring Toadie and tell him everything. Dialling his mobile, they have a quick chat about Charlie (who is apparently at the park with Rachel of all people to which I say 'Ehh?'), before Steph does a really clumsy job of bringing up the divorce papers in a 'hey, here's something hilarious, did I tell you my divorce came though?!' kind of way. Toadie pretends he knew nothing about it, which confuses Steph, so she wraps up the phone call instead of having the big D&M she was going to have with him. Putting down the phone, Toadie calls Valda out from the hallway (where she's been listening in).
TOADIE: You told Steph I saw the papers? She pretended that she didn't know.
VALDA: You pretended you didn't care.
Warehouse
Mrs Wallace leaves and Riley tells Elle he's going inside to take some more pictures. Elle channels her fear into anger and accuses Riley of taking over her whole story.
RILEY: (sarcastic) Gee Riley, thanks for saving my butt.
ELLE: My butt didn't need saving, the interview was going fine!
Not fooled by her defiance, Riley says that he thinks she's suffering from some sort of stress disorder because she can't even look at the building. Stubborn, Elle claims she's fine and starts to follow him towards the building. But when Riley goes inside (the door marked DO NOT ENTER mind you - does that not mean anything to you, Parker?), Elle has more flashbacks to the collapse and falls to the ground hyperventilating.