26 May 2021

Here comes Siôn again

Tesni is intently studying her phone as Siôn comes downstairs in the bookshop;  

Surely he can see that it is not busy

“Is it busy?” he asks, and in reply she draws his attention to the empty condition of the shop.   

“How’s the novel coming along?” she enquires, and he replies that it is slow, 

"It would come along quicker if you were up there"

so Tesni suggests, “Perhaps it would come along quicker if you were up there, instead of coming down here,” and then returns to looking at her phone.   

"Is there something interesting on that phone?"

Siôn wants to know if there is anything interesting on that phone, and, rather annoyed, she tells him that she is not ‘sexting’, if that is what he thinks.

"No, that's not what I meant at all"

“No, that’s not what I meant at all,” he tries to assure her, and she maintains that she would never do that while taking his money.   “Tesni, it never crossed my mind, I promise,” he adds, rather flustered, 

"Now, if you'll excuse me . . ."

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m just going to . . .” and he returns upstairs.

Izzy is talking about repainting the flat

At APD, Izzy is looking at some colour charts and informs Mathew that they should paint the flat;  “I’m looking for a warm colour – any ideas?”   

"No point decorating a rented flat"

He seems to be opposed to the the scheme, as there is no point decorating a rented flat;  they do not know how long they are going to be there.

She thinks this sounds interesting;  “Why?   Do you have plans?   

Then she turns to buying a house together

“I like the idea of buying a house with you – it would be a sign of our commitment to each other.”   He does not want to take such a step at the moment, but she goes on, “If we’re both happy this is a long-term relationship – Mathew!”

He rather angrily replies that he is not against the idea, but just wants time to get used to it.   

"Trouble in paradise?"

Then Gaynor comes in, thinking that she detects trouble in paradise.   

"What do you want?"

Izzy abruptly asks her mother, “What do you want?”  

Gaynor requires an energy-saving lightbulb, and Izzy laughs, 

"I thought you'd come to apologise!"

“And there I was, thinking that you’d come to apologise!   I think you’d better leave!”   

"I'm a customer and I expect to be served"

Her mother reminds her that she is a customer and expects to be served.

A light bulb is slammed down on the counter

Izzy takes a bulb from the shelf and slams it down on the counter, refusing any payment;  

"You've wasted so much money on me already!"

“No need – you’ve wasted so much money on me already!”   

Gaynor simply walks out

Gaynor turns and walks out of the shop, without the lightbulb, much to the annoyance of her daughter.

"Have you seen this, Jase?"

At Llwyncelyn, Sara is looking at the Western Post and puts it down on the table, remarking to Jason, “Have you seen this?”   

"Kelly, your article is here!"

He calls to Kelly that her article has arrived, and Sara snarls, “You’re not going to like it.”

"Do you want to tell him, or shall I?"

When Kelly come downstairs, Sara asks, “Do you want to tell him, or shall I?”   Kelly insists that she changed the names, but Sara goes on, “A story about a couple that lost everything as a result of gambling – 

"And the wife had an affair!"

“and the wife had an affair!   I trusted you,” she growls at Kelly, who is confident that no-one will know that it is them.

Jason has been reading it with increasing concern;  

"Justin and Mara?"

“Erm – Justin and Mara?” he demands.   Kelly says she thought it would help other gamblers;  

"It's an important story"

“It wasn’t intentional – it’s an important story.”

"Not if it's to the detriment of us!"

He angrily responds, “Not if it’s to the detriment of the people telling the story!”   

"You're overreacting, Jason!"

She protests that he is overreacting, and Sara appears to be enjoying this argument;  “This was a mistake!” he stresses.

"I won't share my money with you!"

Guto is relaxing on the sofa at number 10 when his father comes in through the back door, and complains that he could at least knock.   “Don’t talk to me like that, or I won’t share my money with you,” says Gerwyn, “Do you want to go to South America or not?”   

"You're not serious?"

Guto cannot believe that he is serious.

"Enough to go travelling for months"

“I’ve got it – enough for us to go travelling for months,” Gerwyn advises him, and is asked where the money came from.   “Oh, a savings policy, you know – I started one years ago and I’d forgotten about it.   I started it for something like this.”

"There's nothing stopping us"

Rather stunned, Guto says, “So there we go – there’s nothing stopping us,’ but his father points out they have to tell the rest of the family.

Still no customers in the bookshop . . .

Tesni is listening to some music in the bookshop, but turns it off when Gaynor comes in;  

. . . until Gaynor comes in

“I’m looking for Byd Gwyn,” [White World] she says, but Tesni has no idea what she is talking about.   Gaynor explains, “The biography of T Gwynn Jones – have you heard of it?   It’s about time I read it.”

"I know we've got a biography of Cynan"

Tesni knows that they have a biography of Cynan, 

Gaynor is rather scathing about him

but Gaynor is not keen on him;  “Mab y Bwthyn [Son of the Cottage] is not a patch on Ymadawiad Arthur [Arthur’s Departure].”

This is obviously something that Tesni remembers from school, 

"I'll buy a lonely cottage . . ."

and she recites, “I’ll buy a lonely cottage with nothing before the door apart from the rocks of Aberdaron and the sea’s . . .”

Siôn comes downstairs, finishing the quote for her;  

"Is this the Cynan appreciation society?"

“What’s going on here, then?   The Cynan appreciation society?”   Gaynor tells him she is looking for Byd Gwyn, 

He locates the book with no trouble

and he immediately finds it for her, commenting, “Isn’t Alan Llwyd a machine?” and Gaynor agrees that he is a one man book factory. 

"Do you want me to deal with that?"

Tesni is eager to deal with this sale (one of the very few) but Siôn insists he will handle it;  “I hope you’re a quick reader, Gaynor, or I won’t see you in the shop for a month.”   

Obviously not

Tesni is feeling completely superfluous

"I didn't expect to see you today"

At Penrhewl, Eileen had not been expecting that Jaclyn would come over today, but she points out that there is still work to be done,   She pretends that she is all right;  

"There was no choice"

“I’m not proud of what I did, but there was no choice.   How did you sleep?   I was thinking about you.”   

"What do you want, Eifion?"

Then there is a knock at the door and they nervously turn round, to find Eifion standing there.

“What do you want, Eifion?” demands Eileen, and he says that he has some bad news;  he found John last night near the cattle shed when he went to check on them.   

"He's got amnesia"

“Of course he’s alive, but he’s in a heck of a state – I had to take him to hospital.   Something odd’s happened to him – he’s got amnesia – didn’t know who I was.”   

They are even more nervous now

Eileen and Jaclyn are even more nervous now, and wonder why he has come to tell them.

He says he was not sure what to do, and Eileen is his neighbour;  “Right, well, you know now,” and he leaves.

"I'm still going to report him for assault!"

Eileen’s mind is made up;  “Amnesia or not, I’m still going to report him for assault!” but Jaclyn urges her to hang on.   “You saw what he was about to do!” Eileen snarls, 

"Things are not that simple, Eileen"

but it is pointed out to her that things are not so simple.

"He could do it again!"

“If I don’t do something, I have to live next door to a man who attacked me – and could do it again!” Eileen exclaims.   

"He doesn't remember anything about it"

Jaclyn reminds her that he does not remember anything about it, and that possibly they can carry on as if nothing has happened.

He has to keep coming downstairs

Siôn comes downstairs once again in the shop and finds Tesni reading;  again there are no customers and he senses that something is wrong.   

"Why do you bother employing me?"

“Why do you bother employing me, if you insist on serving the customers yourself?” she complains, and he apologises;  he did not intend to be rude, but T Gwynn Jones happens to be one of his favourites.

"Not many people read his works these days"

“Not many people read his work these days, so it’s nice when there’s a meeting of minds on his contribution to the Welsh language,” he goes on.   

“Do you want to hear my contribution to the Welsh language?” Tesni asks him, taking out her phone, 

Tesni's version of literature . . .

“Hiya, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.   I’m getting so hot talking to you – and I’m not wearing much!   Just thinking about you makes my heart beat faster – I can’t stop this feeling.   I’ll have to take everything off and go for a cold, wet shower.”

. . . falls rather short of Siôn's

As she looks at him, listening to what she has said, 

"Are you sure you weren't one of my customers?"

Tesni asks, “Are you sure you weren’t one of my customers on the sly?”   

He does not take kindly to that . . .

The very suggestion is abhorrent to him, but she maintains that she was only joking.   “I didn’t think for one second . . .”   

. . . qnd disappears upstairs again

Siôn is sorry for asking, and quickly retreats upstairs;  she continues reading.

Jason reads the article again

Jason is also reading – the newspaper article about him;  “Reading it again won’t change anything,” says Sara, but he accepts that everything in there is true.   

"It says I had an affair"

What she does not like is that the article says she had an affair, and he reminds her that she did have an affair, which is no secret.

"Do you think you would have without the gambling?"

“Do you think you would have without the gambling?” Jason asks, and she maintains that if it had not been for that, 

"We would still be together"

they would still be together – and Ifan would have had a brother or sister.   She never wanted him to be an only child, neither has she accepted that he will be.

"You and Ifan both deserve it"

Jason really hopes that she will get her wish;  “You and Ifan – you both deserve it.”

"How can you afford it?"

Guto has broken the news about his trip to his mother, who wonders how he can afford it;  

"Dad's helping a little bit"

“Dad’s helping a little bit,” he tells her.   She points out that he is young, and now is the time to do it, but is anxious if he will be safe on his own.

"He's not going on his own"

Gerwyn makes the announcement, “He’s not going on his own,” which comes as a shock to Jaclyn.   

"How can you afford it?"

She demands how they can afford a trip for two, and Guto explains about the old savings policy, which she knew nothing about.   

"Well, I didn't tell you everything"

“Well, I didn’t tell you everything,” Gerwyn replies.

"No – neither did I"

She agrees that neither did she;  “Perhaps things would have been better if we had.   But both of you?   It feels like the end of an era – 

"I want lots of postcards"

“I want lots of postcards.”

"The difficult part is telling Tes"

Gerwyn declares that is the easy part done – the difficult part will be telling Tesni.

Eifion surprises Eileen again

Eifion is back again at Penrhewl, once more startling Eileen;  

"I've got someone to see you, outside in the car"

“I’ve got someone to see you – he’s outside in the car.   We’ve just come from the hospital.   Perhaps seeing a familiar face might help him.”

"Take him away and don't bring him back!"

Eileen makes her feelings very clear;  “Take him away and don’t ever bring him back again!”   

"I thought you were friends"

Eifion was under the impression they were friends, and wonders why she is crying.

"It reminds me of Jim losing his memory"

“It reminds me of the time when Jim started losing his memory,” she alleges, and, accepting this, Eifion leaves the farmhouse.   

"Can you come over straightaway?"

Eileen picks up her phone and asks Jaclyn to come over straightaway

The article is having an effect on people

Sara has something to tell Jason, as she looks at her phone;  she reads, “I can identify with what Justin’s been through – lockdown has just made things more of a nightmare.”   

"Thanks to Justin and Mara for making me feel I'm not alone"

Kelly comes into the house as Sara continues, “Thanks to Justin and Mara, for making me feel I’m not alone.”

Jason is still not happy about it

Jason is still not happy with Kelly, 

"I may have overreacted earlier"

but Sara acknowledges that she may have overreacted earlier;  “I’ve been reading the article’s comments online.”

Kelly wants to do a follow-up

“That’s why I wanted to talk to you – the reaction has been amazing,” Kelly enthuses, “People identified with the pressures that lead people to gamble – especially during lockdown.   I was just wondering . . . is there any chance I could do a follow-up article?”

"Good grief – are you serious?"

“Good grief – are you serious?” he exclaims.   Sara points out that they are where they are, there is no point crying over it, but if their story could help someone else in any way, then at least something positive will have come out of it.   

Jason is still unconvinced

Jason is still not entirely convinced.

"What am I going to do, Dad?"

As predicted, Tesni’s reaction is explosive;  her father knows that she does not want him to go, but she exclaims, “You have no idea!   What am I going to do, Dad?   I need you!”

"You're not a little girl any more"

He reminds her that she is not a little girl any more, and has to stand on her two feet at some point;  “I’m trying to – but it’s not easy!   

"I'm wasting my time in that shop"

“I’m wasting my time in that shop, while my brother is getting handouts to go on a jolly around the world!   What did I do wrong?   

"Why don't you want to take me?"

“Why don’t you want to take me?”

"Guto was the one who wanted to go"

He explains that Guto was the one who wanted to go, and has even learned Spanish, 

"Why are you choosing him over me?"

so Tesni protests that she will learn Spanish.   “Why are you choosing him over me?” she demands.

"You couldn't come – you know that"

He makes it clear that this is not the case;  “You couldn’t come – and you know that.”   She realises that her colitis is the problem; 

"What if you were seriously ill?"

“What if you were ill while we were out there?   Seriously ill?” he demands.

"I've got to be stuck in Cwmderi the rest of my life!"

“So you’re happy for me to be stuck in Cwmderi for the rest of my life?” she whines, “I think that is exactly what you’re saying!   I’ll never forgive you for this!”   She flounces off upstairs.

Kelly's phone records the interview

Jason is recounting more of his experiences to Kelly;  “That was the worst period, I’d say – in terms of the gambling.   

"Stress was the trigger for me every time"

“Stress was the trigger for me every time.   I know it’s a difficult thing to say, but the more stressed I was, the more I gambled.”

Sara is listening to this

He turns to see Sara, listening to this, and goes on, “That’s what it was like for me, anyway.”   

"Would you do anything differently?"

Kelly asks if he would do anything differently, and he is very clear that he would do everything differently;  

"Not hide things – especially from my wife"

“I’d talk more – talk to anyone – not hide things – especially from my wife!   Because when you do it once, it might as well be twice, three times – a hundred times – it makes no difference.   It’s not easy to live with that.”

Kelly listens

As Kelly listens intently, he declares, “I know one thing – I’ll never let Ifan down again.   If I do nothing else with the rest of my life, I just want to ensure I make it up to him.   I think I could forgive myself for a lot of things with time, 

"I can't forgive myself for letting that boy down"

“but I can’t forgive myself for letting that boy down.”

Sara is in tears

Sara has been reduced to tears by hearing this.

"Eifion brought him here – but I didn't let him in"

Jaclyn hurries into Penrhewl, demanding what is wrong;  Eileen explains, “He came here – Eifion brought him over, but I didn’t let him in.   I never want to see him again!   He should pay for what he did to me, even if he can’t remember it!”

Jaclyn is initially sympathetic

Jaclyn does not argue with that, as Eileen goes on, “I thought he was a nice guy – I felt sorry for him.   What’s wrong with men?   

"You can't trust any of them!"

“You can’t trust any of them!”   Jaclyn points out that is a generalisation, stressing that did not apply to Jim, and she did not have a bad word to say about Denzil.

"They must have been exceptions"

Eileen is convinced that they must have been exceptions;  “The point is – you, Eifion, the police and whoever are happy to consider the rights of John Deri Fawr and his ilk – but what about my rights?   Why is it all right for a man I trusted to attack me in my own home – 

"I can't do anything about it!"

“and I can’t do anything about it?”

"But we broke the law, Eileen"

Jaclyn replies that they broke the law, and Eileen regards the law as stupid;  “He deserved what he got!”   

Jaclyn hardly thinks he deserved to lose his memory, 

"He should have thought about that before attacking me!"

but Eileen insists he should have thought about that before attacking a woman.

“You’re angry, and I understand that,” Jaclyn begins, and is told that it is more than that – she is scared and cannot sleep – she just wants it to stop.

"You're not going to the police"

Jaclyn adopts a threatening attitude;  “You’re not going to the police, and that’s the end of it.”   

Eileen is taken aback by her attitude

Eileen cannot believe this, as Jaclyn continues, “I just want you to understand that it’s not an option.   I hear what you’re saying, and I sympathise, 

"If you don't do what I tell you . . ."

“but if you don’t do what I tell you, things will get a lot worse – and not being able to sleep will be the least of your problems!”