19 July 2021

'Welcome Home'

A home-made sign in the window of number 10 welcomes Jaclyn home as Tesni comes in through the door, 

Last week she was at death's door

followed by her mother, who has evidently made a miraculous recovery.   There are balloons and a table laden with food.

“You didn’t have to,” Jaclyn protests, but is told that she deserves a bit of fuss.   

"Tes has been doing some cooking"

It is revealed that Tesni has been doing some cooking, with Aled’s help;  

"I shall be suffering from shock"

“I’ll have to go back to the hospital, suffering from shock!” says her mother.   Tesni reprimands Aled for not clearing the place up, but Jaclyn tells him to sit down.   They start eating.

Andrea contacts Mark

Mark is in the Deri when he receives a phone call from Andrea;  

"I was worried you'd forgotten about me"

“I was worried you’d forgotten about me,” he says, but she assures him that she has been thinking a lot about him.   

"Why haven't you phoned me before?"

He wonders why she has not phoned him before.

"Look, the thing is . . ."

“Look, the thing is . . .” she begins, rather hesitantly, “I haven’t arranged to see you yet because . . .”   

"Gone to another conference, have you?"

He assumes that she has gone away to another conference, and she agrees that she has, 

Does not look like a conference

although we can quite clearly see that she is sitting on a sofa somewhere.

“Don’t worry – perhaps we could meet when you get back,” Mark replies, and gives the ‘thumbs up’ signal to Colin.   Andrea, on the other hand, looks rather guilty.

An anonymous Cwmderi resident gets some screen time

Tyler walks though the alley and meets Iolo outside the shop;  “Hey, stranger,” Iolo greets him, “You’ve been avoiding me since the other night.”   

"It wasn't nice, hearing what people are saying"

Tyler answers that it was not nice, hearing what other people have been saying about him.   

"You walking out wasn't nice either"

“You walking out wasn’t nice either,” Iolo points out, 

"We need to talk"

“We need to talk.”

“I can’t now – Dani’s sent me out to get juice for Seren,” Tyler tells him, 

"Meet me in the Deri later"

“OK, meet me in the Deri later.”

"We're going to run out of trousers at this rate"

Kelly is working on another article for the paper when Jason comes in with the washing;  “We’re going to run out of trousers at this rate,” he complains.   

"Kids have accidents all the time, Jase"

Kelly reminds him that kids have accidents all the time, but he thinks that it might be more than that.

“He thinks Sara’s gone away for work,” she assures him, but he replies that Ifan is not stupid and knows something is not right.   

"He'll adjust quickly – kids always do"

“He’ll adjust quickly – kids always do,” she says, “Jase, he’ll be fine – because he’s got you and he’s got me — 

"Winning combination, babes!"

“winning combination, babes!”

Atvthat moment Ifan can be heard crying upstairs, and Jason exclaims, “What now?”

Jaclyn proposes going for a walk

Jaclyn has enjoyed the food;  “That was lovely – you’ve been pretending over the years that you can’t cook to get you out of doing it.   I think I’ll go for a walk.”   

"You're supposed to rest, Mam"

Tesni warns that she is supposed to rest, but is told she will only go to the end of the street for some fresh air.

When she tries to get up from the sofa, it is obvious that she is still in a lot of pain, 

"You'r trying to do too much, too soon!"

and Aled puts his foot down;  “Right, you’re trying to do too much, too soon.”

"There's something else you need to know"

Tesni agrees with him, adding, “There’s something else you need to know before you go around the village – people are saying things about Uncle Dyl.   

Of course, Jaclyn already knows all of this

“Britt’s started a story about him being a drug dealer  – she’s saying he forced Aaron to work for him, and that’s why he and Garry fell out.   

"She's getting Garry off the hook"

“As if!   We all know why she’s doing it – to get Garry off the hook for the shooting.   It’s easy to make people think a drug dealer is dodgy – Britt wants everyone to think it was Uncle Dyl who shot you.”

Jaclyn cannot disguise her guilt . . .

Jaclyn has been looking increasingly guilty as Tesni continues, “You don’t even know who shot you.”   Jaclyn asks if people believed Britt’s story, 

. . . and Aled recognises this

and Aled appears to be getting suspicious.   Tesni relates that they have tried to contact Uncle Dylan to warn him, but without success, as he is not answering.

“Has he phoned you?” Aled asks, 

"I haven't heard from him"

and Jaclyn shakes her head;  Tesni advises her mother that if anyone says anything, simply to ignore them, 

"We know the truth"

because they know the truth.

Jaclyn thinks that she will go for a lie down, stressing that she needs to rest, and awkwardly gets up from the sofa.   

Aled is sure she knows more than she is telling them

Aled’s suspicions have been raised still further.

"What's happened to this washing machine, Kelly?"

Jason has had a phone call from Mathew, and asks Kelly what has happened to the washing machine;  “It was working yesterday.”   She wonders what she is supposed to do about it, and he goes on moaning about it, 

"Ifan needs this by tomorrow!"

“Ifan needs this by tomorrow!”

“Well, wash it by hand then, Jase!” she growls, “All right – I’ll phone the repair man!”   

"Can you look after Ifan this afternoon?"

Then he asks if she can look after Ifan this afternoon;  “I really need to finish this article!” she protests, but is told that if Jason does not price an extension today, they may well lose the job.

"The extension is more important than my article?"

“So the extension is more important than my article?” she snarls, and he replies that it will pay better.   

"We're looking after Ifan now!"

He reminds her that they are looking after Ifan now.   Kelly sighs, iritated, “All right – I’ll look after Ifan – you’ve made your point – 

"Anything else?"

“I’ll look after Ifan – I’ll finish the article – I’ll phone the repair man.   Anything else?”

"I don't care if people find out about us"

In the Deri, Iolo apologises again about the other night;  “Contrary to what you might think, I don’t care if people find out about you and me.   Hiding it is stressing me out – and I regret not telling people from the start.”

"What exactly are you saying?"

Tyler wonders what exactly he is saying;  Iolo explains, “I think I want people to know about you and me, but we have to make sure we’re doing the right thing first.   This Brychan business – it’s been a laugh – 

"It will be just you and me now"

“but it will be just you and me now – normal life – will that be enough for you?”

Tyler can see that he is still loooking for excuses why this would not work;  

"You're scared"

“You’re scared.”   Iolo says that things are great at the moment, but asks whether Tyler will feel the same in six months, or a year?

Tyler declares that he will not make the same mistake again, and urges, “Come on, Iol, what do you say?”   When Iolo nods his approval, he adds, “We’d better start telling people, then.”   

"I don't want Dad hearing it through the jungle drums"

Iolo wants to tell his father first;  “I don’t want him hearing through the ‘jungle drums’ – I’m going to tell him today.”   

"Good luck with that"

Tyler wishes him good luck.

"I thought you said Ifan was going back to Sara"

Kelly has taken the washing round to Auntie Anita’s;  “I thought you said Ifan was going back to Sara last night,” says Anita, but Kelly replies there has been a change of plan.

"Sara's got a job in the Alps . . ."

“Sara’s gone away – she’s got a job in the Alps in some resort,” is her rather vague explanation, 

". . . selling outdoor pursuits stuff"

“Selling outdoor pursuits stuff – it was a last-minute thing.”

"And she's just dumped Ifan on you?"

Anita is outraged;  “And she’s just dumped Ifan on you?   When is she coming back?”   

"You're going to be a full-time mother!"

Kelly has no idea, and is told, “You’re going to be a full-time mother – she’s not here, is she?   I can’t believe she’s left her child, just like that!”

Then Anita stops, realising the significance of what she said;  “Sorry – I didn’t mean anything by that,” 

Memories of Paul come flooding back

but it has brought back painful memories for Kelly, 

"I've left him with Dani and Seren"

who has to go now, because she has left Ifan with Dani and Seren in the park.

"It's not like Sara will be away for ever, is it?"

“Listen, if you want me to help or to babysit, just say, all right?” Anita tells her, “It’s not as if Sara will be away for ever, is it?”

Andrea is working on her next costume

Andrea is doing some sewing, then picks up her phone and dials Mark’s number;  

"Twice in one day?"

“Nothing for days and then twice in one day!” he exclaims.   

"I'm on my way to the airport"

She says that she is on the way to the airport but wants to meet him next week.   She maintains that she is only going to Germany this time, and really needs to see him.

“You can’t live without me, can you?” he rather presumptuously suggests, 

"Taxi's here – I have to go!"

and she says that the taxi has arrived, so she has to go.”   We are left wondering why she is feeding him these lies.

"I haven't started on my costume yet"

Colin comes in with the Deri’s vegetable order, and Mark informs him, “Andrea’s coming to see me next week, and I haven’t started on my costume yet – I’ll never get it finished!”

“Forget making the costume – get one off the internet,” Colin suggests, 

"Sexy cosplay costume – for redheads!"

“Go to the Google shop –‘sexy cosplay costume’ for redheads!”

"I've been asleep all afternoon"

After a long time, Jaclyn comes back downstairs;  “Why didn’t you wake me?   I’ve been asleep all afternoon,” she says, and Aled reminds her she has been told to rest.

"If I asked you to do one thing for me . . ."

“Auntie Jacs,” he goes on, “If I asked you to do one thing for me, would you do it?”   

"I'm not promising to do cartwheels"

She is not promising to do cartwheels round the room, but he continues, “Tell me the truth – why didn’t you defend Dad when Tes was talking about the drugs?   

"Dad was to blame for the acid attack"

“I found out last week that Dad was to blame for the acid attack on Mathew – Guto was supposed to be the target!   

“If Dad can put Guto in danger, he could do the same thing to me, so I want to know what I’m dealing with.   I’m asking you, please, just be honest with me.”

"Be very careful around your father"

Jaclyn, who has been looking very uneasy, advises him to be very careful around his father.   “So if what Britt is saying about the drugs is true, 

"Did he shoot you?"

“is what she’s saying about the shooting true as well?” Aled goes on, “Did he shoot you?”   Jaclyn shakes her head maintaining unconvincingly that she cannot remember, but he pleads with her to be honest.

"He didn't mean to"

After a long pause, she admits, “He didn’t mean to.”   

"Dylan could have killed you!"

Aled is aghast, pointing out that Dylan could have killed her.   

"Here, phone the police!"

He holds out his phone and shouts, “Phone the police!   I know he’s your brother, but you could have died!”

Jaclyn emphasises that she cannot go to the police;  

"He's got something on me"

“He’s got something on me – and I know you’re going to ask me what it is, so before I answer I have to be sure you want to know – your mother.” 

"What's Mam got to do with this?"

He cannot understand what his mother has to do with this, 

"It was his drugs she swallowed"

and it is explained, “He didn’t kill her, but it was his drugs that she swallowed.   She died in one of Dyl’s flats and he wanted me to help to move her, so there would be no connection between him and her.   

"I helped move her body"

“I helped to move her body – that’s why I can’t go to the police.

Kelly is thinking about Paul

At Bryntirion, Kelly is remembering her past with Paul while Jason picks up Ifan’s toys, scattered everywhere;  

"He's like a hurricane around the place"

“He’s only small, but he’s like a hurricane around the place,” Jason comments, then asks Kelly if she is OK.   

"Penguin – over there"

She points out that he has missed the penguin.

"He was putting so much pressure on me"

“I can’t tell you how sorry I am,” says Jaclyn, “How much I regret it – I shouldn’t have helped him, but I was in shock and he was putting so much pressure on me.

"It's his fault that she died"

Aled still cannot believe it;  “Perhaps he didn’t force her to swallow the drugs, but it’s his fault that she died.   You said he told her to bring the drugs into the country.”   

"He didn't know she ws going to swallow them"

Jaclyn maintains that he did not know she was going to swallow them, 

"Why are you defending him?"

and Aled rages, “Why are you defending him?   It’s his fault my mother’s dead!   He said he was trying to get her out of that world – but it was a lie!   

"He's been lying from the start!"

“He’s been lying from the start – so why didn’t you tell me?

"I wanted to protect you"

“Your Dad was desperate to put some distance between himself and your mother – and I wanted to protect you,” Jaclyn replies.   

"That's why he wanted nothing to do with me"

Aled realises that was why Dylan wanted nothing to do with him from the start;  “He didn’t want a link between him and Mam – and there was me, trying hard to make excuses for him!   

"My father is scum!"

“But I regret finding out that he’s my father, because he’s scum!”

Tesni arrives and wonders what is wrong . . .

At that moment Tesni arrives home;  “Siôn’s given you this as a welcome home present,” she says, 

. . . as she can see their expressions

but when she sees their expressions, she knows that something is wrong.   

Tesni is not convinced that everything's fine''

Jaclyn says that everything is fine, but Tesni knows better.

Kelly comes downstairs . . .

Kelly come downstairs during the night, 

. . . still haunted by thoughts of Paul

flops down on the sofa 

She takes from her purse . . .

and opens her purse, 

. . . a photo of the two of them

taking out a photograph of herself and Paul.

Aled has dialled the first 9

Aled is looking at his phone, and dials the number 9;  Jaclyn comes downstairs and asks who he is phoning at this time of night.   

"The police"

“The police,” he answers, and she can understand that he is angry; he has every right to be.

"If you shop Dylan, he'll shop me!"

“But if you shop Dylan, he’ll shop me,” she goes on.   

"You were forced to help him"

Aled points out that she was forced to help him, but she knows they will not believe her and urges him not to phone them.   “If you do, I’ll deny everything I told you earlier – don’t do this.   

"I dont want to go to prison"

“I don’t want to go to prison – to leave Tes and you.   I’m really sorry for what I did to your Mam.”

“He’s not sorry,” says Aled, “And he’s using this to blackmail you – 

"I'm going to look for him"

“I’m going to look for him – I can’t just sit here and do nothing!   I’m going to sort things out!   I could kill him for what he’s done to Mam – to you!”

"Please don't go, Aled"

Jaclyn begs him to stay with her,

Aled leaves the house

but he will not be dissuaded and disappears into the night.