Josh comes into the cafe to offer Shona an available training spot. She decides to back down and let Maria take the session (because she knows Maria fancies Josh). She can't say what she really wants to so she ends up taking the session herself. He knows she was trying to be matchmaker and tells her Maria isn't his type.
Josh and David are having more than just training sessions. They've become mates and are having some heavy drinking sessions as well. There's David staggering home in the morning with the milkman, still reeking of it, a fact that the children notice straight away. Children are shuttled off to brush their teeth so Sarah and Shona could tease him. She later cautions Josh not to have David out drinking every night.
Eileen comes to the church to see if Billy is there and he still is, though not inside. She scolds him a little and he pretends he's feeling a bit better for the fresh air and the drugs making their way out of his system (or into it). She takes him home where Eva is keeping an eye on Summer who really likes her. She thinks Eva and Billy would be a good couple if Billy weren't gay! When Billy does get home, the two of them make peace and Billy, now feeling a bit less painful, insists that he and Summer stay together and face it as a team. But he's still sipping on the methadone when she's out of the room.
Eileen is confused about Billy's withdrawal/recovery. The symptoms don't add up. She wonders if Billy isn't trying to pull the wool over her eyes. Phelan suggests Nicola take Summer out for the day. Over at Billy's, he's looking a bit frazzled but tells Summer he's doing pretty well and wants to take her to the movies. Eileen arrives and can see right through that. She confronts him about still being on the pills after all. He pretends it's all an act for Summer's sake.
They end up at the Bistro because Billy was too slow moving for them to catch the start of the movie and they meet up with Tracy and Amy who are there as well. Tracy's had Amy working in the florist for half term which doesn't go over that well so Amy's pleased to see a friend. Tracy manages to convey to Billy that Summer's school work has slipped alarmingly. She does admit to Billy she's falling behind but promises she'll catch up now he's feeling better. Guilty, he contacts Lee again but he's not available until tomorrow. He also manages to get Summer to visit Asha so he can suffer in silence.
Billy drinks the last of the methadone just as Eva arrives. She offers some help and at his suggestion, she takes Summer out shopping for birthday presents while he waits for Lee who walks down the road just as Sarah comes out of the cafe. He kidnapped her a few years ago, you may recall, while high so she's got reason to freak out when she sees him. Billy plays the brother card, promising to be there for him where he never was in the past.
Time really must stand still because in the time it took Sarah to get home after seeing Lee, Lee's had the time to talk to Billy, have a bath, and Billy to make a full lunch. But Lee brings methadone and has remembered it's his brother's birthday tomorrow. There's still that sibling bond there between them. Billy's struggling but the methadone seems to be leveling him. He and Summer are still pretty cautious around each other, though.
And for his sister's sake, David accosts Lee when he leaves Billy's, David dressed like the menacing old David of 10 years ago. Lee gets the better of him. So much for all that training for the boxing match! But Josh sees what's going on. David gives Josh the brief version of Lee and Sarah.
Summer organized a little birthday party for Billy and he appreciated it. He'll appreciate it more when he sees Lee later in the cafe. Lee's ready to take full advantage of Billy's remorse and wants to stay with him for a few nights. Billy doesn't want him to because of Summer which makes Lee angry and he leaves.
Billy's pain is really bad and he's struggling and trying to hide it from Summer. But he calls Lee and now he's got that little bottle of methadone and it has done it's duty. Peter knows there might be something going on and even if he has other issues with Billy, he would help Billy with his addiction if he can. Billy tells him he's not addicted and the pain is getting less and less every day. But now Billy has to go see a teacher at the school because of Summer's grades sinking and who does he see outside the school when he gets there but Summer's grandmother Geraldine in a stunning bright pink coat.
David gives Lee a bit of a kicking, more just a scare than anything to warn him away. Lee seems very likely to take heed but Josh sends David off home on his own and really lays into Lee himself. He doesn't actually hurt him but he sure scares him. He and David talk it over another pint.
Nice scene between Roy and Johnny as they sit and talk about CArla. Johnny admits to being jealous, Roy offers some insights into Carla's personality and the two men make peace with each other. I also chuckled at Tracy coercing Peter into helping her deliver all the flowers and balloons people were sending to Carla and Aidan, showing up his interest in Carla.
Johnny and Kate sing Aidan's praises though he's not awake to hear them. I wondered if he secretly was but it didn't seem like it. Carla's out of surgery as well. Another scene that made me laugh was Tracy assuming Carla had died due to Roy's demeanor. Work on your happy face!
Johnny and Kate come in again to see Aidan. They promise him a party when he and Carla are better. Aidan tells them he needs a rest so they might as well go. Johnny kisses him goodbye. The minute they're out, Aidan breaks down in tears! That's got all of us wondering what's going on there? Roy is in Carla's room and Carla says she feels a bit better already. She asks Roy if anything interesting happened while she was under. He relates that he and Johnny talked about her and they came to an understanding. She tells Roy that she's going to sell up the Devon house and move back.
Post-op, Aidan is not showing any signs of an appetite. Even his visitor, Carla, doesn't seem to be able to tempt him. Is this a symptom of something? I'm suspicious of everything he does since that breakdown after the surgery. Carla visits Aidan again later and over a game of cards they talk about the factory.
Aidan and Carla out of hospital after major surgery in under a week? unheard of! But all the Connors are quite happy to be altogether again, sharing a laugh and family memories and Jenny's feeling a bit surplus to requirements so she left them to it. Kevin spotted her and probably could tell she was feeling a bit out of sorts and offered her a drink and a shoulder. As a friend. He tried to give her a bit of perspective but she still feels like everyone else is Johnny's priority over her. Kevin gives her good advice.
Bethany tells Craig that working in the salon will get the family off her backbut it looks like Bethany's chaffing a bit under Audrey's management. Gemma challenged Kevin to a dart game. He looked scared and well he should. She's very, very good. All that time spent in pubs I would imagine! Summer is struggling with her half term assignment and wonders if she will finish it in time though Amy thinks she could use her situation wisely.
Audrey is heading to a course with her friend Claudia and expresses wonderment about learning new skills at her age. Bethany is a bit sarky about working in a salon. Maria has to go to pick up Liam so Bethany is asked to cut Brian's hair. shouldn't be difficult. he likes what she's done but what she's done is a very 1950s style circa Danny Zuko from Grease but Brian thinks he's got the hairstyle of some Greek icon and it's really quite funny. I'm surprised, though, because when Grease was in the movies Brian must have been in his early 20s so you'd think he would have been aware of it even if he'd never seen it.
Bethany's club friend Sam has come in , too and Sam has told Bethany that the club has reopened. They have a boss that isn't fussy about the ages of the girls.
In Maria's flat, Craig and Liam are watching telly and Liam wants to know if he kept everyone safe today. Craig thinks he did, one person in particular. So what happens now pipes the little boy. Craig says he can't stop being vigilant.
Maria has brought Liam home from school. He'd been messing with the electric sockets at school. He tells her that he and Uncle Craig have to do it to keep people safe. Maria is confused.
Roy's mother is hurt again so he's going to have to go to Hastings to attend to her demands. He hates to do it because of Carla but Johnny assures him they'll all be there for her if she gets out of the hospital early and Shona puts herself and Yasmeen at the helm of the cafe.
Roy nips in to see Carla before he goes to say goodbye. Johnny promises to look after his allottment, too. He starts to talk a bit of business but she brings him up short when she says she's signing her shares over to Aidan.
Jenny is over the moon about moving to Spain, next month it seems. But Johnny has asked her to delay it for at least three months. Between looking after Carla, helping out at the factory. Jenny ends up agreeing but she's not happy about it. So because he promised, Johnny heads off to Roy's allottment first thing on a cold morning. He tries to get Liz to accompany him, cue dirty looks from Jenny who's not jealous, no she's not. It's only Liz after all. I would say Liz is more than worthy competition. She proves this by bringing a bottle of brandy to the factory where Johnny has retreated from a frosty allottment.
Yasmeen can't get through to Zeedan who's keeping away from Alya but he does take her to lunch intending on telling her about Rana. She tells him never to stop appreciating what he's got while he's got it. She's still weepy. this is getting tedious. I feel for her losing Luke but you do have to gather yourself together and get through the days a bit better than she's doing.
Elsewhere Chesney wants to do something with Hope, Ruby and Joseph for the last day theyy have with him before Fiz takes the girls back home. Gemma makes a few suggestions but Chesney is skint. He then remembers there was supposed to be a health and safety inspection that day and asks her if she'd be available
Michelle has come to the medical centre to see Ali and have her injured hand looked at. she's not pleased with Liz for not telling her about Ali working there though to be fair he did insist that Liz not tell her. She comes to the medical centre again to have him re-check her hand injury but once things get past the small talk, she gets a text to say Aidan's out of surgery and she tells this young man, the son she hasn't really bothered to keep in touch with (yes I know it goes both ways) that family is everything to her. His face! Looked like she could have slapped him. I felt bad for him really. He tells her he'll be at the clinic for four months and it's all back to business after that. Later, he doesn't thank Liz for sticking her oar in, either.
Michelle has told Carla about Ali and Carla thinks Michelle needs to push a bit harder to get to Ali. Robert and Michelle have a cuddle in the kitchen. She's trying to connect with Ali with food but she has no idea what he likes. Robert suggests a curry but she doesn't know if he's vegetarian or not
Phelan is determined to find out why Nicola wasn't having him in her flat so he nicks her keys now that she's moved into Number 11 until the baby comes. While everyone's out, she's been snooping around the house looking for evidence without any luck. Phelan comes in later on as she's on the phone to Seb so she hangs up. She sidesteps his questions. He puts her keys back in her bag, having made a copy. While his wife is at lunch, he lets himself into Nicola's flat and sees Seb noshing a sandwich and listening to music with headphones over his ears. He never heard a thing and we all sit here wondering if Phelan is going to go all Hillman on his tender skull!
We don't know yet. He gets home and makes enough noise so that Nicola can get her nose out of his laptop. He keeps his temper though you know he's raging inside, knowing she's betrayed him by harbouring Seb. The police call Nicola because there's a potential breakin at the flat. It's Seb, of course, that the "concerned neighbour" spotted and Phew, he's ok. Nicola supports his story that he was looking after the flat for her while she's at her father's place. She's instantly suspicious about who made the anonymous call.
Phelan's having his knee checked over so Liz takes the opportunity to find out if Eileen would like to go to Barcelona with her. He puts his foot down on that invite, which puts Liz out of sorts. She tells Steve Phelan is a control freak. Later, Liz suggests a holiday which Eileen would snap up in a minute, she says. Aha! Liz recalls Phelan pretending that his wife wasn't in the right "headspace" for a holiday. Hearing that, Eileen backs off a bit but asks why Liz doesn't like him. Eileen is offended when Liz implies pretty much everyone doesn't like him! When she gets home, he down plays things
Liz apologized and invited Eileen out to lunch and Phelan too, though she offers the invitiation with gritted teeth. He knows when he's not wanted and politely declines. Even Eileen's still a bit nasty, making a bitchy remark about the curlers still in Liz's hair (she'd run to the shop for milk). Lunch starts out ok but the old friends are soon teetering on the edge of crossed wires of communication, reading much more into each other's words than was meant. Is the friendship done? Phelan sure hopes so. He doesn't want anyone saying anything to cast doubts on him so isolating Eileen from people that would do that is his goal.
Things are frosty between Eileen and Liz and neither one is shy when it comes to insulting each other but it hurts them, too. Liz tells Audrey later in the salon that she could take Eileen in a fight. I believe her. She is probably one of the few that could.
Phelan is feeling hard done by, Eileen is angry that he has been treated so poorly by Nicola who believes Gary and Seb's side of the story, letting her father down. Gary has mounting bills and decides to go see Nicola in hospital. Nicola is signing herself out and going to stay with her sister in Leeds and taking Seb with her. Eileen arrives with a box of Nicola's things where Eileen questions them all about being against Phelan. She calls them all delusional. Nicola tells Eileen Phelan will start isolating her and controlling her and she reckons it's already started, Eilleen looks somewhat abashed. She tells Eileen she doesn't ever want to see ever again and throws her out.
And things are still difficult between Eileen and Liz and Liz blames Steve for some of it.
I'll tell you what, though. Anyone that has the flavour of OCD that Craig has and is depending on the bus to come exactly on time is going to be in a little padded room within a week! Craig later had to get Liam from a holiday club, this being half term break because he had been fussing over the electrical outlets like Craig does. Liam doesn't say anything that will get Craig into any trouble.
Chesney has Hope and Ruby and tells them he has to go out. Gemma comes swinging in the back door and has offered to keep an eye on them while he's gone. They promise to behave. later she has the girls out in the yard pretending it's a salon. Ruby gets bored and wants to go out into the ginnel which Gemma allows but has a mirror turned so that she can see where the little girl is.
Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter
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