1 February 2024

Hywel picks up the post

Hywel has picked up the post from the doormat of Llwyncelyn and puts it on the table;  he turns on the kettle.   

"Well, last night was unexpected!"

Gaynor comes in, still in her dressing gown, commenting, “Well, last night was unexpected – nice, but unexpected.   I never expected we’d both wake up next to each other again!”

"Did you sleep well?"

He feels the same and wonders if she slept well;  she replies that she did, 

"You did snore a bit"

but he did snore a bit.   

"Sorry about that"

Hywel apologises for that and admits that he also slept well;  

"Do you want to talk about it?"

she wonders if he wants to talk about it, but he says that he has a meeting in the village and also several other things to do.

"I put that on for you"

“But you’ve put the kettle on for a cup of tea,” she reminds him and he maintains that it was for her.   He will be back around lunchtime 

"Can you sort out Esther for me?"

and asks if Gaynor can sort out Esther for him.

"I only went to the shop"

Siôn has made breakfast and when Cai comes downstairs he remarks, “I thought you went out earlier.”   Siôn confirms that he only went to the shop, offering to make breakfast for Cai as well.

"Come on, there's plenty here"

“I’m not sure if it’s an early lunch or a late breakfast,” says Siôn, “Come on, there’s plenty here.   We haven’t had much time to talk over the last few weeks.”   

"I've been busy"

Cai simply replies that he has been busy.

"Are we going to get a chance to talk about what happened?"

“Are we going to get a chance to talk about what happened?” Siôn continues, but Cai walks out of the house without a word, 

Siôn is concerned

which worries Siôn.

Not more Bara Brith?

Hywel finds Britt unloading some supplies for MFC and hands her some Bara Brith for Colin.   “Is this your apology for that nonsense last week?” she demands, “How do you think he is, Hywel?”

"Do the police have any updates?"

She is asked whether the police have any updates, or any idea when the funeral will be, but tells him, 

"They haven't even confirmed that it is Yvonne"

“They haven’t even officially confirmed that it is Yvonne – it could take weeks!   So we’re still in limbo – it will take a while.”

"Will you be moving out as agreed?"

What Hywel is really leading up to is whether they will be moving out by the start of next week;  “That’s what we agreed.”

"You're not serious?"

Britt cannot believe that he is serious, reminding him that was before Colin found out his sister was dead;  “You don’t expect him to pack up and move now, do you?”   

"You're only going across the street"

Hywel stresses that they are only going across the street, not to Timbuktu.

"Gaynor pushing you, is she?"

“What’s the rush?   Gaynor pushing you, is she?” suspects Britt, “Well, who can blame her?”

He emphasises that he and Esther want to move so they can settle down;  

"And to hell with everyone else, is it?"

“And to hell with everyone else, is it?” Britt snarls, “Kylie’s leaving us today – she’s packing as we speak – that’s not going to be easy for Colin either!”

Again, Hywel stresses that they had a deal;  “I don’t want this to turn nasty, 

"I want that key by Tuesday!"

“but I want that key by Tuesday, as we agreed – all right?”

Cai is moving chairs . . .

Cai is rearranging chairs in the Deri, preparing for the meeting that DJ was advertising yesterday;  

. . . then waits for company

he sits down anxiously, waiting for the first person to arrive and looks at his watch.

"Guaranteed you're thirsty after that packing"

Kylie comes downstairs with her bag and Colin gets out a drink from the fridge;  “Guaranteed you’re thirsty after all that packing,” he says, “Remember your trainers are in the bathroom.”   

"There are black leggings on the line"

Britt adds that there are a pair of black leggings on the line.

"Hywel blinkin' Llywelyn!"

Colin scowls at the latest packet of Bara Brith to arrive and wonders who it is from;  “Hywel blinkin’ Llywelyn!” replies Britt, “I could kill him!   He is still insisting we move out on Tuesday.”   Colin appreciates that is what they agreed, 

"You don't want all this hassle, Colin"

but she goes on, “That was before all this – you don’t want this hassle when you’re grieving.”

He insists that he is fine and that this packing is taking his mind off things;  

Colin has been keeping busy

“I’ve tackled the landing with the vacuum.”

"I know what it's like to lose someone . . ."

Britt is undeterred, stressing that Hywel knows what it is like to lose someone;  “What if someone had asked him to move out a week after losing Meilyr?   I know what it was like after I lost Brandon – 

". . . everything was jumbled up in my head"

“everything was jumbled up in my head!   So, I’m worried about you, Colin.”

"I'm OK, Britt"

He stops her and points out that he is OK, then goes up to check on Kylie

Cai is still sitting alone . . .

Cai is still waiting, alone, and feeling discouraged when Mathew and Rhys come in.   Cai tells them, “I was beginning to think that no-one would turn up,” 

. . . then Mathew and Rhys arrive

and they look at him, puzzled.   

"That's why you're here, isn't it?"

He points to the notice on the board, “That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”

Mathew remembers that he did see something about that;  

"It's not really my thing"

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but it’s not really my thing.   

"I don't want to talk about my problems"

“I don’t really want to be around a table in my local, talking about my problems, you know?”

"I thought this was at the perfect place"

Cai was under the impression that was the perfect place, 

"I want to talk about rugby and football"

but Mathew comes to the pub to talk about rugby and football.   Cai concedes that he is probably right.   

"It's a really good idea, just . . ."

“Look, it’s a really good idea, just . . .”

"It's a stupid idea"

Cai gets up and puts on his jacket, realising, “It’s a stupid idea.”   

"It's just not for us|"

Rhys denies this, but maintains that it is not for them.   “Or anyone else – see you, boys,” says Cai as he leaves.

"I feel great now!"

Rhys is downhearted;  “I feel great now,” he groans, “He’s trying to create a support network – something like this would have helped me when I had that difficult period.”   

"It would have been weird"

Mathew argues that it would have been weird, with everyone staring at you, waiting for you to open up – it would have been too much pressure.

"What if we did something else?"

“What if a group of us came together to do something else?” Rhys suggests.

Lunch is waiting at Llwyncelyn 

Hywel returns to Llwyncelyn to discover that lunch has been prepared, together with the inevitable bottle of wine.   

"I thought it would be nice to have lunch together"

“I thought it would be nice if we had lunch together,” says Gaynor.   

"You've been busy, Gaynor"

He realises that she has been busy making Tapas and feels rather awkward as he begins, 

"I don't think it's a good idea"

“Listen, I think you misunderstood last night – er, I don’t think it’s a good idea if we got back together.”

"I don't want to, either"

Gaynor pretends that she thinks likewise;  “I don’t want that, either,” she maintains, “I wasn’t sure how you felt about last night – if you wanted us to get back together – 

"I wanted to tell you in the nicest possible way"

“so I wanted to tell you, in the nicest possible way, I didn’t want that.”

Hywel is relieved, “Not that last night wasn’t nice, of course,” and she describes it as lovely, 

"Been there  – got the T-shirt"

but she has already been there and got the T-shirt.   

"Couldn't have put it better myself"

“I couldn’t have put it better myself,” he comments.

Mathew and Rhys have commandeered Yr Antur

In Yr Antur, Rhys and Mathew welcome Cai and a few others;  “I do think it’s a good idea – 

"It's just it was being held in the wrong place"

“but it’s just that it was being held in the wrong place,” says Mathew.   

"We are doing it for the right reasons"

Rhys begs him not to be angry because they went behind his back, but they are doing it for the right reasons.

“Mathew read an article about these sheds for men, where you can have a chat while you repair furniture.”   

"We've organised a test run"

Mathew continues that have organised a test run and invited a few of the the boys to see if it’s easier to open up that way.

Rhys stresses, “You can say nothing – no pressure,” and Mathew assures them that everything they say today is completely confidential.   

"Today we're going to change a plug"

He thought they could learn one new skill a week – so today they are going to be taught how to change a plug.

“It sounds easy, but you’d be surprised how many struggle,” Mathew points out.   

"Nesta always did that"

Cai agrees that applies to him, as Nesta always did it and he honestly regards the idea as genius.

Then things take a turn for the worse . . .

Then someone else comes to join them – in the form of Siôn White and he is welcomed to the ‘Talking Shed’, 

. . . and Cai does not like it

although Cai is far from happy to see him there.

"Yes, last night was nice"

After lunch, Hywel again stresses that last night was nice and Gaynor agrees, 

"It hasn't complicated things, has it?"

“It hasn’t complicated things between us, has it?   It wouldn’t have happened, except I was looking for some comfort.”   

"Perhaps we can come to some kind of agreement"

He is glad that he was there to give her that comfort, suggesting, “Perhaps we can come to some sort of agreement – I don’t know – not that we get back together, 

"If we need a bit of . . . comfort"

but if we find we are missing each other and, as you said, if we need some comfort sometimes, we can come to some arrangement.”

"There's too much history between us"

Gaynor believes that there is too much history between them to make that work, which he finds disappointing.   She is in favour of leaving things as they are;  

"Yes, you're probably right"

he reluctantly agrees that she is probably right and that now they understand each other.

"I've got a present for you, Colin"

Kylie comes downstairs with a present for Colin;  

"It will remind you that Yvonne is not far away"

“Someone made one for me when Mam died, so I made one for you.   It will remind you that Yvonne is never far away,” she says.

Colin becomes quite emotional

Colin is very moved by this and does not know what to say;  “This is so kind,” 

"It's gorgeous"

and Britt says it is gorgeous.   “Thank you – I’ll treasure this for ever,” he says.

"Thanks for putting up with us"

Now it is time for Kylie to leave and he goes on, “Thanks for putting up with us – and sorry for everything that’s happened while you’ve been here.   You’re welcome to come back any time you want, honest.”

"If your Gran has to go back to hospital . . ."

Britt adds that if her grandmother has to go back into hospital, or she just wants a break, 

". . . there will always be a room for you over the road"

there will always be a room for her over the road.   

"Thanks for everything"

Kylie thanks them both for everything 

They engage in a group Cwtch

and they enjoy a group hug.

Mathew gives the instructions

Mathew issues instructions, “If the screws on top of every pin have been unscrewed, then feed the brown wire into this one on the right.”

Cai seems to be having some difficulty with this process;  he is told to slow down and take his time.   

"How do you feel after . . . what happened?"

Rhys asks how Cai feels after his experience.   “Recovering,” is the answer and Mathew thinks that it was sensible for him to go away.

"Where did you go?"

“I still can’t believe you went away without your phone,” Rhys adds, “Where did you go?”   

"Thailand"

Cai continues the myth started by Siôn, saying that it was Thailand, but is asked where it was in Thailand.

"Bangkok, wasn't it?"

Once again, Siôn answers for him, maintaining that it was Bangkok;  Rhys has apparently been there and describes it as ‘nuts’.   

"Did you go to Khaosan Road?"

“Did you go to Khaosan Road?   Don’t tell me – you preferred Patpong!”

"No"

Cai replies that he did not go there either and Rhys will not give up;  “You went down the cultural route?   You saw the Wats, did you?   Those temples – they’re called Wats!”

"You went to several of them, didn't you?"

Siôn cannot resist prompting Cai, maintaining that he went to several of them, with Rhys going on about the reclining Buddha at at Wat Pho.

This is getting too much

Cai is getting fed up with this charade, 

"Yes, that's dead right!"

but has managed to correctly wire his plug.   Mathew enquires if Siôn received a gift from Thailand, 

"Yes, a lovely gift"

which he says that he did.

Kylie has now gone . . .

With Kylie having left, Britt is in tears;  Colin tries to comfort her, 

. . . and Colin says that it is quiet

“I know, it will be odd without her here – quiet.”

He insists that he is all right;  

"So do you want to carry on with the fostering?"

“So you do want to carry on with the fostering?” Britt asks.

"Can we talk about this another time?"

“Listen, Britt, can we talk about this, perhaps, later on?” he answers, but she maintains that things went well with Kylie, even with everything else that was going on.   

"I think I just need some time"

“I think I just need some time – especially if there is a funeral to be arranged,” he reminds her.

"Because you said earlier . . ."

Nevertheless she continues, “Perhaps after the funeral – after everything is settled down – because you said earlier . . .”   

"I don't want to talk about it now!"

Colin is becoming increasingly flustered and does does not want to talk about it now, but she still carries on, “It would be a shame if we didn’t.”

She insists on helping him with what he is doing, 

"Britt – leave it, please!"

but he loses his temper, shouting, “Britt – leave it, please!   I’ve just said!”

"Will you contact the council?"

“I’m going to contact the gas and electricity company to say I’m moving,” Hywel tells Gaynor and she asks if he will contact the council about the council tax.   When she has hung out the washing she will make coffee.

There is an anonymous e-mail . . .

He opens the laptop to look at his e-mails and finds at the top of the list something from an unknown sender addressed to him and Griffiths.   

. . . featuring Griffiths handing the envelope . . .

When he clicks on it, 

. . . to Hywel 

he finds a short video of him accepting the brown envelope from Griffiths.   

This troubles him

He realises that someone has evidence against him, which he finds disconcerting.

"Mathew and Rhys are good boys"

Cai returns to Y Felin with Siôn, who comments that Rhys and Mathew are good boys for organising that.   

"Why did you have to turn up?"

Cai demands, “Why did you have to turn up?”   Siôn maintains that he just wanted to support Cai.

"It was so embarrassing"

“It was embarrassing that I knew nothing about Bangkok,” insists Cai, but Siôn is convinced that the others did not realise;  

"I had to come up with some kind of story"

he says he had to come up with some kind of story about where Cai had been, as Cai was not willing to talk about it.

"What you did says it all"

“What is there to say?   What you did says it all,” Cai points out 

"I panicked"

and Siôn’s excuse is that he panicked when he heard what Iolo had done.

"That's no excuse to cover it up"

“That’s no excuse to cover it up,” says Cai 

"I had intended to go to the police"

and Siôn argues that he had intended to go to the police.   “No, you hadn’t – Iolo wanted to do that!” snaps Cai.

“You led us to believe that perhaps you were dead!” is Siôn’s defence.

"And that's worse than what you did?"

“And that’s worse than what you did?’

"Do you have any idea what we've been through?"

“Do you have any idea what we’ve been through?” Siôn snarls.

"Iolo could have killed me!"

“You?   What you’ve been through?   Iolo could have killed me – and you just want to cover it up!” rages Cai.   Siôn warns that Iolo could have faced years in jail – 

"Iolo would never have been able to cope"

and would never have been able to cope.   He argues that Cai would have done the same for his son, Twm.

"No, I would never have done that!"

“No, I would never have done that!” exclaims Cai, but Siôn is convinced that he would have done – if he were a good father, 

Now Siôn is getting scared

but then regrets saying that, as Cai walks menacingly towards him.

"Stay out of my way!" — difficult, as they live in the same house

“I think it would be a good idea for you to stay out of my way!” shouts Cai;  

Siôn prepares to make his getaway

Siôn looks suitably sheepish and escapes upstairs.

Colin is packing for the move

Colin is packing away some more ornaments into boxes, ready for the move, when his eyes falls upon the gift from Kylie, with the name ‘Yvonne’ on it.   

He burst into tears

He picks it up, looks at it and bursts into tears.   

He puts it with the family photos

He puts it down near the collage of pictures of their family, 

He picks up a large box . . .

then grabs one of the boxes 

. . . and upends it on to the floor

and furiously tips out its contents.

Britt rushes to his aid

Britt rushes in from the kitchen and attempts to comfort him.