Steve is very glum without Michelle. Liz advises him to talk to Michelle and Lloyd advises him to grovel, grow a pair and fight for her. He does try, though, with an armful of Dev's flowers. Michelle rains derision and more verbal abuse on him for it. Later, though, he goes to the factory to plead for her to talk to him.
Carla is determined to go back to work, much to Michelle's horror. Carla needs rest but Carla has had enough of the four walls and wants to go back to work. She's also still worried that she'll be banged up for murder because at the moment, she can't prove she didn't do it. Peter keeps trying to contact Carla and his calls are ignored.
Everyone is surprised to see Carla at the factory. Poor Julie is beside herself with empathy for Carla but doesn't know where to put herself. It's clear Carla isn't amenable to sympathy. Carla tries to reason with Michelle who doesn't want to talk to Steve. Who's to say none of this would have happened had Steve told about the affair? She reminds Michelle that Steve is a good bloke and none of it is his fault. (implying it's Peter's fault, naturally).
Steve lays it out for Michelle at the factory later. He's sorry and he only did it for the best and to stop others from getting hurt. He wants her to believe him. He's sincere but she still isn't looking too receptive. Will she or won't she? Carla makes Michelle to talk to him and she strops out and continues to treat Steve horribly while he's trying to apologize and poor Steve, he's not very good at these conversations and keeps putting his foot in it. She makes him squirm, she makes him sweat but in the end she comes back. He was stupid but let's be fair, he was given a confidence and he didn't want to break it even though he knew he should have and was too scared to tell her. That's what brought her round in the end. He's on his last chance.
Roy is really concerned about Carla, even to the point of asking Sally how Carla is, really. She's not well. She's short tempered with everyone. And after avoiding Peter's calls all day, she ends up having to see him when he uses his key to the factory after closing time. The atmosphere in that office was so cold it's a wonder Peter didn't get frostbite. Roy's arrival was the excuse she needed to get him out from underfoot. Roy as usual, was bloody brilliant. He is so honest and straightforward and it unnerves Carla how he can see through her defences.
By the end of the week, the police are back at Carla's feet with Rob flailing his arms in defence. He's going to start making himself look guilty if he's not careful. The police made it seem like Carla might have known about the affair but she put them straight. He did it because he could. If I was Carla, I'd tell them about his bigamy history. It's in his genes. It's taking its toll, though. Questions, delays, it tossed Carla over the edge and she flamed her client to a crisp and lost an order over it. Now she's back on the bottle and going to hell because she believes the police will make her take the blame for Tina's death.
Tina's mother has shown up. About flaming time. Don't get me started!!! They might not have been close but surely the police and hospital would have called her as Tina's legal next of kin after the attack. Because there hasn't been any sort of explanation as to why her mother hasn't shown up until days after her daughter died, never mind being attacked, her grief feels a bit like crocodile tears to me.
And she didn't know her daughter at all. Loved the scene between Carla and Ann, Carla drunk and wondering why Tina would have been a friend to her face and cutting her down behind her back. That's your beloved daughter, lady.
Rob is really on edge, too. Unreasonably so, at times. People are going to start asking questions. His guilt must really be eating away at him. He even offered blood money to Tina's mother to pay for the funeral!
Tim and Sally are still awkwardly circling around each other and their engagement. Sally still wants to keep it secret until she gets a ring. Tim suggests they look for one together. She puts him off, it would be nicer and more romantic to have him pick up one. She also advises him to keep the receipt! Hah! Where does he go to buy her a romantic engagement ring? Why, Barlow's Buys, of course. He tries to pick out the cheapest, smallest one in the tray, because he's skint, not tight and Tracy shames him into spending a bit more but the ring is still pretty small, so small she doesn't know what it's meant to be at first. When he explains, she widens her eyes. Is that a good sign or a bad one?
Good apparently. She says she likes it but I think she's just trying not to hurt his feelings. Sophie finds out and she pretends to like the ring too and she knows very well that Sally doesn't really want to get married even if Sally won't admit it. And wonderful Sally scenes this week with her pretending to like opera hoping to put Tim off and Sophie calling her on her bluff.
Loved Sally trying to avoid Julie so she wouldn't have to tell her all the proposal details but Julie was the one that ended up driving the unproposal by pushing for a more romantic one! Julie's organizing a party and Sally's horrified, but pasting a smile on anyway. And Tim? He's using Faye's minor glitch with drinking as an excuse to perhaps call off the wedding. We knew all along neither of them had their hearts in it, they finally admitted it to each other and in the end, he unproposed and she said I don't. Happy as Larry, the pair of them!
Kirk gives Todd and Marcus an ear bashing for hurting Maria. Well done, Kirk! You told him! Todd is still smarming over Marcus and manages yet again to get Marcus to treat them to a meal in the Bistro. Marcus seems to know he's being used but accepts it. Eva and Jason are invited out with them. Marcus looks very much like he's giddy in love over Todd and though Todd doesn't let him show it, it's clear he doesn't feel the same way. He never bothered to even pretend to feel the same way by lying and saying it back no matter how many times Marcus says it or refers to that moment.
Yet he continues to let Todd pull his strings. Todd persuaded him to take a day off. Todd is talking him into buying a car. Todd is thoroughly enjoying running Marcus around like a puppet. He admitted to Tony he was using Marcus for everything he can get. I hope Tony blows him out of the water.
Owen is due back today and Anna is very very nervous. Gary does a quick job for Nick in the Bistro and is awarded a free meal for his family (less dessert, drinks and coffee) for his troubles on Gary's suggestion. Owen is back on time and finds out about the meal from Nick. Maybe he was put off by that or the prospect of facing Anna, more like but he doesn't let her know he's back.
Anna is later dismayed to hear Owen has been back awhile. Where was he? In the pub supping beer instead of facing Anna. He later finds out Katy's moving out and is shocked that Anna told Katy and Izzy about her "deal" with Phelan. Owen tells her he doesn't know what he's going to do and won't talk to his daughter about it.
Anna arrives home to a tense atmosphere. His hackles are up already because she told the girls. But they engage in small talk instead of real talk as he sups more ale, fuel for his temper, getting more and more spiteful. She can't answer when he wonders why she told his kids and not Gary. In the end, he goes upstairs for a shower and seems intent that they all go to dinner. Anna can't imagine how they can all sit at the same table (especially when they all know what she's done except Gary. Can you imagine the atmosphere?)
She's fearful, contrite and he's snippy and condescending so she gets on her high horse too, suggesting she wear the same outfit she wore for Phelan. That's pushing some big buttons. Will he rise to the bait? Yep, She pushes and he upends the kitchen table. But maybe that's what it takes to get them talking. He's definitely not in any shape to talk to her just yet. He hasn't been able to get it out of his head and 2 weeks in Aberdeen has indeed given it time to simmer to a boil and he's blaming Gary as the root of it all.
This isn't going to be solved easily. Owen can barely keep himself controlled. He's an explosion waiting to happen. That was one dinner party I would have avoided like the plague. Gary has a line on a good job and Owen is shooting killer looks at him. Gary just goes merrily along, oblivious, usuall but even he picked up on something. Izzy made a credible excuse..When's Gary going to be told or find out, though?
In the meantime, Phelan is sending postcards from Dubai. Rat! Owen is feeling even more down and out when now it is Anna working two jobs to support the family and he's not got any. All he can get is a few odd jobs for Roy. Even Faye is looking for a job as well but she's not 13 yet. She managed to get Gary to sub her for a social event. Well, he does have a point, he is her big brother but Faye's social event included booze. She's 12!!!! All it did was cause Owen to lash out at Gary. It wasn't his fault but everything else is, in Owen's eyes.
I'm with Gary, I wouldn't suck up to Owen, Owen needs to be the one that apologizes. And Katy, little madam, practially told Gary there's a big secret everyone is keeping from him.
Gary should have used the makeup Katy offered. He didn't get the job and Owen's intended apology went out the window. He told Gary about Anna and Phelan instead. Gary seemed to forgive his mother but Owen hasn't and he blames Anna as much as he blamed Gary. Owen was horrible to her. I think he wanted her to finish with him in spite of how he reacted so he could then play the big man and offer to forgive her yet continuing to make her feel cheap and dirty. Does he really think she could forget all those things he said and does he really think he could forget what she's done that seems to be haunting him?
Oh Izzy, don't take it out on Gary because he didn't think to video Jake's first steps!! Now, because Gary has a little mark on his face, he didn't get a job and he's all stroppy with Izzy for keeping secrets and not taking his side. He's getting dissatisfied with how she sees him, I think. I smell a crack in what was a lovely relationship.
Looks like Lloyd's heart attack wasn't just a flash in the pan. For now. Jenna is offering him skim milk and Andrea is making him salads. I guess we're back to Jenna and Andrea backbiting over Lloyd. Jenna doesn't think Lloyd's ready to go back to work, but he probably is, at least to work on the switch. Maybe not allowed to drive just yet. Jenna suggests a holiday instead. Lloyd thinks that's a great idea and wants Andrea to go. Andrea managed to turn it around and persuaded Lloyd to take Jenna instead.
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