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    Written by: Don Battye   Produced by: Don Battye   Directed by: Denny Lawrence

John is driving up the drive towards Dural as Rob tells Patricia that he's stashed his stuff away. Patricia offers Rob a beer, but Rob says he'd prefer a whisky and water! John gets out of his car and has a quick look inside Rob's old bomb. Rob tells Patricia that he's never lived in a place as big as Dural before. John comes in and, upon seeing Rob, says he thought it was his uncle's bomb outside! He makes it clear that he's pleased to see Rob. Patricia remarks to John that she thought he wasn't coming home, and she suggests he goes to get changed. With her back turned to Rob, she raises her eyebrows!

Beryl is bundling up old newspapers when Kevin comes in on his way home from school. He apologises to his mother for last night, but Beryl says David is the one that her son should be saying sorry to. She adds that she thought Kevin would have more sense, and she tells him that she's already given Rob a piece of her mind. Kevin says it wasn't Rob's fault, as he didn't know his nephew had put so much on the horse. Beryl tells her son that he will have to pay for the sewing machine, but Kevin says it could take a while, so Rob should take it back. When Beryl says her brother is in Sydney, Kevin says there's no doubt about Rob!

Rob tells John about Beryl catching him with Pauline. He remarks on the fact that Angela seemed great, although Beryl had warned him that she was feeling low. Angela comes in, all dressed up, and Rob is impressed. Patricia tells John, Angela and Rob to have a good time, and Rob cheekily replies that there's no question about where Angela got her good looks! He adds that he and Angela are off to dinner and then to some clubs. Angela and John wish Patricia luck with Gordon, and Patricia then closes the front door, looking slightly lost. Later, when Gordon arrives, he and Patricia reminisce about happier times, including the occasion when they splurged on a takeaway just after Patricia had given Gordon an investment tip from James. She says they had the chance of losing everything, but still splashed out. She adds that they were a pretty good double.

Susan is in a rush to get to work, and she asks Lynn where her car keys are. Lynn points them out on the 'fridge, and Susan hurries out, but she fails to close the front door properly. The 'phone rings, and Lynn answers it. The caller is Beryl, who invites Lynn over because she'd like some company. Lynn, though, says she'd prefer an early night, as she's been sewing for hours, and she's really tired. Beryl says she remembers what it's like. Lynn puts the stereo on quietly, lies down on the sofa and falls asleep. After a while, there's a knock on the front door, and when there's no answer, a bloke wearing dark clothes and a dark wooly hat enters the house. He sees Lynn on the couch, and she suddenly stirs and spots the intruder. The bloke apologises for frightening Lynn, but says he's there to see Susan. Lynn says her husband will be back soon, and the bloke says he'll call back tomorrow. He apologises again for scaring Lynn, and he goes. Lynn makes sure the front door is firmly shut behind him.

Gordon tells Patricia that he's had a delightful evening, and he stands up to leave, but Patricia asks him to sit down. She says she has some things she wants to say, and adds that there are reasons for the terrible things she's done. She tells Gordon that he has no idea how much he hurt her in the way he reacted to the news about John and Angela, when he cut her off like that. She explains that she was very lonely, and she'd never gotten over David, even though she hated him when she was young. She says David appeared when she had noone, and she needed him, but it's over now. She asks Gordon not to let the two of them finish with him feeling so badly. Gordon says he can see Patricia had her reasons and felt justified. He says he must go, but he thanks Patricia for the evening. By the front door, Patricia asks Gordon if he really has to go. Gordon says he does, but he'll ring before he goes back to Woombai tomorrow.

The next morning, Charlie finds Patricia sitting by the pool. She asks her best friend why she looks so worried, and Patricia replies that Angela's not home yet. Charlie is more interested in proceedings with Gordon the previous evening, but all Patricia will say about it is, "Dinner for two." Charlie says she's not surprised, as she was at a party last night and heard some gossip about Gordon and Barbara Armstrong being together at Woombai, having been seeing each other for quite some time. All Patricia can say is, "She's so..." before Charlie points out that Barbara is a widow. She suggests that Patricia get herself an invite to Woombai for a day or two, but Patricia says she's done enough kowtowing after last night, and she's sick of being rejected by men. She asks Charlie if she's doing anything, as she'd rather not be on her own, and she adds that it's ludicrous that a dull housewife like Beryl Palmer can keep her man when she can't.

Kevin tells Susan to be more careful about shutting the door next time, and Susan says she's sorry, but she's too tired to argue. Lynn says the bloke said he'd be back this morning, and, just as she says this, there's a knock at the door, which Susan answers. It is indeed the same bloke, who tells Susan that Bill told him to come and see her. He reveals that he was Bill's cellmate, and introduces himself as Noel Devlin. He gives Susan a bunch of flowers, which he says are from him and Bill. Susan introduces Noel to Kevin and Lynn, and he apologises to Lynn for last night. Kevin says he's off to work. Susan offers Noel a cup of tea. Lynn looks at Noel distastefully, and Noel tells her that he feels terrible for not bringing her flowers. Lynn tells Kevin that she'll go with him, as she wants to see Beryl. Susan tells Noel to sit down, and she asks after Bill. Noel says Bill is making the best of things. Susan says she has so many questions.

Lynn tells Beryl about the bloke turning up last night, and about how it scared the wits out of her. She adds that he gives her the creeps, but she also says she thinks Susan is glad he came. Beryl says it gives Susan someone to talk to about Bill, but she adds that she doesn't like her daughter being by herself with him. She asks Lynn what Noel did to scare her, and Lynn explains that the door was left open, and he just appeared. She says she knows she's being silly, but she can't help it.

Noel tells Susan that Bill really loves her, and that's why he wants nothing more to do with her or her family. He adds that Bill really wants Susan to find someone else, and Susan says she agreed to the divorce, but she'll still be there for him, and she'll still write. Noel says Bill really looked forward to Susan's letters, as the sort of things she'd write would get anyone going. Susan suddenly looks horrified, as she asks Noel if he read them, and Noel admits that he used to look at them while Bill was asleep, saying that they meant a lot to him, as he had no outside contact for so long, and Bill let him read the letters once, and it gave him another family. Noel thanks Susan for helping him. Susan tells Noel that she's glad he came to see her.

Patricia hears Rob and Angela coming towards the front door, and when they come in, Angela tells her mother that she and Rob had dinner, then went to some discos, and then went to the Blue Mountains for breakfast. Rob tells Patricia that Angela is perfectly safe with him, and he then heads off to bed. Angela tells her mother that Rob is a lot of fun to be with - "He's so genuine, like Beryl." Charlie comes in with coffee, but then leaves the room again as Angela asks Patricia about last night. Patricia says she had a very pleasant evening, but they were being naive to expect any more. Angela tells her mother not to give up hope, before deciding to go and get some sleep. In a sarcastic tone of voice, Patricia says to Charlie, "So genuine, like Beryl." Charlie points out that Beryl will be a genuine grandmother before long!

Lynn creeps into Susan's house, and it appears noone is home. However, she is soon startled when Noel starts speaking behind her. He tells her that Susan is asleep, and he adds that Susan is a nice girl who has been kind enough to ask him to stay until he finds a place of his own.

At Dural, Charlie reiterates her invitation to Patricia to join her in Paris for the fashion show. The doorbell rings, and Patricia answers it. The visitor is Gordon, who says he wanted to thank Patricia personally for last night - and he gives her a gift - a bottle of her favourite perfume. He tells her that they must do it again, and Patricia suggests that they could have dinner at Woombai on the night of the opening, but Gordon says he's not so sure. Patricia says that, with Wayne there as well, they could spend one day all together, but Gordon says no - and he then suggests that Patricia should come back with him to Woombai this afternoon and stay for a week, until the opening. As Patricia heads off to pack, Gordon says he'll be back in half an hour. When Gordon has gone, Charlie says to Patricia, "Bravo, excellent performance," but she adds that she didn't think Patricia was going to pursue things. Patricia tells Charlie that she didn't see Gordon's face - "I've got him, whether he likes it or not." Charlie asks, "What about Barbara?" Patricia replies, "What about her..?"

 

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