20 December 2023

Christmas has arrived in Cwmderi

A car drives past Bethania, where the traditional Christmas crib has been erected outside;  

Mayalooksnat the CCTV recording

in the pharmacy, Maya is again looking at the CCTV recording and shakes her head.   

"Where are the car keys?"

When Delyth comes in, she quickly closes the laptop, as Delyth comments that she is at work early this morning and wants to know where the car keys are.

"One of the reps being a pain"

She detects that something is wrong, but Maya dismisses it as one of the reps being a pain, emphasising that she can handle it.   “I’m going to town – do you want anything?   I know – olives – I don’t know why I ask.”

"A house in Greece"

Maya replies that she is preparing for their retirement;  “A house in Greece.”   She is advised to work full speed to be able to afford it.   Then Maya returns to the difficult matter she has to deal with.

Cai has prepared breakfast

Cai has prepared some breakfast;  there is an elf, as well as what it looks like flour on the table.   “The elf has been busy,” Cai tells Iolo, “Greta said that she wanted one.   

"Sorry I didn't check with you first"

Sorry I didn’t check with you first, but it was something I enjoyed doing with, Twm and Lleucu.”

"She 'guilt-tripped' me, too"

“Well, you should have checked, because she ‘guilt-tripped’ me too,” says Iolo, you as he produces another elf from his dressing gown pocket.   

"This is good"

Cai invites him to help himself to what turns out to be a very tasty croissant.

    "It takes a lot of skill to put them in the oven"

“It takes a lot of skill to put them in the oven,” Cai maintains and notices that Iolo is in good spirits this morning;  

"No side-effects from stopping the pills?"

“No side-effects from stopping the pills?   Remember I’m here for you – it won’t be this easy every day.”

"I'll be all right"

Iolo says that he will be all right and adds that Greta will love this;  he shouts upstairs, “Grets, come and see what the elf’s been doing!”   

Cai does not believe him

Cai is still looking dubious about him.

"Heave you got a few minutes, Cassie?"

Howard comes into the Deri, asking Cassie if she has a few minutes;  she jokingly informs him that Mark, Kath and Cheryl have gone on strike, 

He has received a letter

but he produces a letter for her to look at.   

"This is rubbish!

“Right, this is rubbish – someone saying you’ve won £50,000.   I don’t think that a man from Spain is going to give you that amount.”

"But it might be true"

He objects to her dismissal of the letter, but she insists that she is not going to waste her time on scam letters.   He argues that he has a right to keep the letter, just in case, 

"I don't have time for this, Howard"

but she does not have time for this.

“You said you’d help me,” he goes on, and she apologises that she is just in a bad mood.   

"I'll make a cup of tea, all right?"

“I’ll make a cup of tea and then we’ll start reading, all right?”

"Who's that at the door?"

There is a knock at the door and Iolo answers it;  he finds that it is Maya and says that he is just on his way to work.   

"It won't take long"

“It won’t take long,” she replies and he is immediately worried.   She asks if Siôn is home, but is not there to see him.

He nervously wonders whether she has a leaky tap or a dodgy flush on the toilet;  

"Why did you steal the Diazepam?"

“I’d like to know why you stole that Diazepam from the pharmacy yesterday.”

"It wasn't me . . ."

He tries to pretend that it was not him;  

". . . you can't make accusations like that!"

“You can’t come here, making accusations like that!”   

"It's all on the CCTV, Iolo"

Maya points out that it is all on CCTV, which tends to demolish his argument.

Delyth wonders where Maya has gone

Delyth comes out of the pharmacy, having found that Maya is not there, and Cai happens to be passing.

"I haven't seen her this morning"

“You haven’t seen Maya, have you?” she asks, “She called Gaynor into work, but didn’t say where she was going – and she’s not answering her phone.”   Cai thinks that proves that she must be busy.

Delyth takes a sip of her coffee and finds it unpleasantly cold;  

"I'm off to Tamed, if you fancy another one"

“I’m off to Tamed, if you fancy another one,” offers Cai, “I’m trying to enjoy some freedom before going back to school.”   

"I've been teaching a few classes"

He is pleased that is feeling much better and has been teaching classes on a couple of days and believes that they went all right.

"I'll miss the Americanos and croissants"

“But I will miss the Americanos and croissants I’ve been having almost every day at the deli.”   

"Croissants?   Now you're talking"

The mention of croissants makes up Delyth’s mind and she accompanies him to the deli.   

"I'd like to pick your brains"

On the way he wants to pick her brains;  “I’m worried about someone and I’m not quite sure what to do,” he begins.

"It's a bit childish"

Howard is being a bit of reading practice, but he protests that the books are rather childish;  

"They are for children under six"

and she reminds him that the books are for children under six.

“But it’s useful for you to see the letters while I read the words.   I think it’s time for you to read now.”   He is not so sure about that as she produces a book entitled ‘Peekaboo Farm'.

"I hope you locked the door"

He is anxious that the door is locked, and she points out that they have not opened yet.

"This is just stupid!"

She begins to spell out words in the story, but he jumps up and shouts, “This is just stupid – I don’t want to read a book about a talking sheep!” 

That lesson went well!

 he angrily walks straight out of the pub.

"When I took the first tablet . . ."

explains, “When I took the first tablet you gave me, all my bad thoughts suddenly disappeared – for the first time in months I was able to sleep all night.   That cloud that was hanging over me – that disappeared, too!”

"Thast feeling doesn't last for ever"

Maya tells him that feeling does not last for ever.   

"But once you know it's possible . . ."

I know, but once you know it’s possible – that’s all you want – again and again.   I tried to talk to you, but you refused to give me any more.”

"If you'd been honest with me, Iolo"

Maya says that if he had been honest with her, they could have come up with a better solution 

"I'm sorry!"

and he wails that he is sorry.   She maintains that she is not angry, because it is not his fault;  “But you need to do something about this – have you considered going to see the doctor?  

"You can't tell them I gave you anything"

“Obviously you can’t tell them I gave you anything.”

"I've tried that"

He is quite aware of that and says that he has tried, but they will not give him anything.   “Were you completely honest with them what you’ve been taking?” she demands, 

"What are you afraid of?"

“What are you afraid of?”

"People knowing I've failed"

“That people will know that I’ve failed,” he sobs, “And that I’m not OK.”

"You've been to hell and back"

Maya knows that he has been to hell and back recently, but he is adamant that he has to stay strong for Greta;  

"What if the doctors take her away from me?"

“What if the doctors take her away from me?” but Maya replies that would never happen.   

She describes him as a wonderful Dad, which everyone can see;  “But you do need to get help before things get out of hand.”

"How much do you depend on instinct?"

In the deli, the coffee is a marked improvement and Cai asks, “How much do you depend on instinct?   If you’ve got a feeling about someone?”   

"Well, I do need evidence, but . . ."

elyth replies that she needs evidence, but does use instinct a lot in her job.

"I promise it's not me"

“Right, I’ve got a friend – and I promise you, it’s not me – he’s not in a good place.   He’s been using the wrong things to try and cope – he told me he’d stopped.”

“And you don’t believe him,” says Delyth, but he cannot prove anything;  

"What tools do you use when things get too much?"

“What tools do you use when things get too much?” she asks him, “Can you share that with him?   

"Do something about it"

“If your instinct says things aren’t right, do something about it.   If you’re wrong, you were only trying to help.”   

"Thanks for the advice"

Cai thanks her for the advice.

"Would you be willing to talk to my friend?"

“I have a friend who works with patients with prescribed drug addiction,” Maya continues, “Would you be willing to talk to her?”   

"I want to get better"

Iolo answers that he wants to get better;  “And you will, I promise – 

"You have to give me all the pills you've got"

“but you’re going to have to give me all the pills you’ve got.   I know you have some – I saw you steal two boxes.”

"I can't go 'cold turkey'!"

He pleads, “I can’t go ‘cold turkey’!” but she reminds him that he said he wanted to to get better.   

"Let me just hold on to them"

“I do, but please let me hold on to these to help me to keep going until I get the appointment with your friend.”   

"Right, one box – but that will be your last!"

She concedes that he can keep one box, but makes it crystal clear that it will be his last.

"Sorry I walked out like that"

Howard comes into the Deri flat, apologising for walking out earlier;  

"It's hard, learning something new"

Cassie understands that it is hard learning something new.   He seems determined that he is not going to learn;  he is grateful to her, “But I will be OK – and I wanted to say sorry.”

"You need to fight for things"

He is about to leave, so she calls him back;  “You need to fight for things in life sometimes – you’re refusing to go to war with yourself.”   

"You're not making any sense"

He protests that she is not making sense.

“I’m sure driving came easy to you,” Cassie goes on, and he has been driving since he was 12.

"The instructor didn't want to teach me"

“But it was not easy – the instructor didn’t want to teach me because I was so terrible,” she informs him, “I’d stall every couple of minutes –  and then I didn’t go for another lesson until I was 24 – I didn’t want to go then, but my auntie was sick and I had to take her back and forth to the hospital.”

"Nobody's going to die if I don't learn to read"

“Yes, but nobody’s going to die if I don’t learn how to read,” Howard replies, “Why are you doing this?”   

"Must be getting soft in my old age"

Cassie imagines she is getting soft in her old age.

"I'm not going to read about Sali Mali"

He picks up a book and insists that he is not going to read about Sali Mali;  “So you know who she is?” Cassie points out.

"I didn't come from outer space!"

“I can’t read, but I didn’t come from outer space,” he laughs

"What am I doing here?"

Iolo arrives at the deserted gym and looks for Cai, who is pleased to see him;  “What am I doing here?   Was I supposed to bring my tools?” Iolo wants to know, 

"You're not here to work"

but is told that he is not here to work – well, not plumbing, anyway.

"I know you're still taking those pills"

“You need to find a way to release all that stress in your body, because I know you’re still taking those pills.   I want to prove to you there are better ways of dealing with things – and don’t worry, there’s no one else here.   

"The gym isn't open today"

“The gym isn’t open today – I’ve been given the keys as a favour.   

"I don't want you to make the same mistakes I made"

“I don’t want you to make the same mistakes I made.   Look at me, living in my brother-in-law’s spare room – my kids are estranged.”

"I'm not like that"

Iolo protests that he is not like that, and is told, “Not yet!   You could make things much, much worse for yourself if you carry on with these drugs.   

"Just try one session"

“Just try one session.”   

Iolo takes the gloves

Iolo reluctantly takes the pair of gloves.

"That's 'cakes'!"

Cassie takes down a tin from the shelf 

"That's easy"

and Howard recognises the word as ‘cakes’;  

"Bread – Eileen's got one like that"

the next tin he guesses is ‘bread’, as Eileen has a similar one, but when spelling it out, he realises that it is ‘flour’.

"Compost – like the post office!"

Then she finds another tin, which is in English, labelled ‘compost.   “I knew what that was, because I’ve been to the post office so many times,” he laughs, and demands another tin.   

"It's a shame you weren't my teacher at school"

“It’s a shame that you weren’t my teacher when I was at school – I wouldn’t be this stupid then.”

"Never call yourself stupid again, all right?"

She reprimands him that he is not stupid;  “And don’t ever say that again, all right?”

Cai taunts Iolo

In the gym, Iolo is throwing some weak punches, while Cai taunts him, “Come on – you’re supposed to be relieving some stress!   

"Greta punches harder than you!"

“Greta punches harder than you!”

"Are you scared?"

Iolo does not want to continue, so he is asked, “Are you scared?”   He replies that Maya is sorting him out some professional help, but Cai doubts that is true;  

"What if Greta found those tablets?"

“You’ve been lying to everyone for weeks!   What if Greta found those tablets and took one?”   When told that they are safe, Cai reminds Iolo that he found them.

"That was 'below the belt'!"

Now Iolo is becoming more belligerent, and delivers a low punch, which causes Cai to drop to his knees.   

"At last some response"

He is pleased to get some sort of response at last;  “Nice to know you feel something!”

"How about chicken curry for dinner?"

Delyth comes into the pharmacy and is asked whether she fancies curry for dinner tonight with some chicken.   

"Sorry, Dee – I have to answer this"

It has been busy in the pharmacy today, and Delyth advises that Maya should get Gaynor in to help.   The phone rings and Maya answers it.   

"Thanks for getting back to me"

Delyth listens in as she says, “Thanks for getting back to me.”

Now Iolo is flagging

The bout is still continuing, with Iolo relieving some of his pent-up emotions, but now he is exhausted.   

“You can’t stop now – we’ve only just started,” Cai goads him, “What are you scared of?”   

"I've had enough"

Iolo maintains that he has had enough.

"You'll lose Greta!"

“You’ve never been able to handle the truth – Siôn is so careful of you, but you need to face up to all of this or you’ll lose Greta!”   Iolo points out that Maya promised.   

"Everyone leaves you in the end, Iolo"

“And how exactly is she going to do that?   Everyone leaves you in the end – Tyler, Eifion – you need to learn how to deal with things, instead of brushing them under the carpet, like the Whites always do.   

"You're an addict!"

“You’re an addict – it doesn’t matter how many of those pills you swallow – it can’t bring Tyler back, which is a pity, 

"You're not fit to be a father!"

“because you’re not fit to be a father!”

Iolo's punch is just a blur

Iolo is so furious that he unleashes a tremendous punch which renders Cai unconscious on the canvas.   

Iolo pummels the inert figure with bare fists . . .

Then Iolo discards his gloves and continues punching Cai with his bare fists.   

. . . then realises what he has done

When he stops, he looks with horror at the bloodied face, lying motionless and unresponsive.