5 December 2024

The flat is cold . . .

Eleri is just out of bed and is most upset when she finds that the heating boiler is not working 

. . . and so is the water

and there is no hot water;  on the worktop are two of Kath’s Father Christmas figures, 

Eleri looks with disgust at the Father Christmas 

which she disgustedly tosses into a bag.   

She learns that Kath and Brynmor are out for the day . . .

Then she finds a note, indicating that her father and Kath are out for the day, 

. . . which cheers her up

which tends to cheer her up.

"We need suits for Gwern and Gabriel"

At a bar somewhere, Dani is telling Jinx, “We need suits for Gwern and Gabriel.”   He asks what is happening with Gwern at school now, but she is not sure and will have to phone them.

"I want them to smart, but not boring and stiff"

However, she is much more interested in planning what the children will wear for the wedding;  “I want them to be smart but not boring and stiff,” she stipulates.

"Should we go and see Ffion"

“Do you think we should go to see Ffion?   You must have questions,” Jinx goes on, but she takes no notice, proposing that they should have matching suits, which would be really cute.

"I saw a suit and dress which match"

“I saw a suit and dress which match – but there’s not much point without Seren, is there?”   Jinx’s phone sounds and he looks at the message, 

"It's only a flour delivery"

then dismisses it as just a flour delivery.   Dani imagines that they may be waiting for him, but he maintains that they said four o’clock.

She tells him to go to The Pizza Place, as she is going shopping anyway;  

"Shall we come back later to eat?"

“But the food looks fab here – shall we come back later to eat?”

"What's wrong with the boiler?"

Ffion is in the deli when she receives a phone call from Kath;  “Whoa, what’s wrong with the boiler?   And you’ve tried to turn it the other way?   Will Eleri be home this afternoon?”   She leaves with her takeaway coffee.

Cassie and Cheryl are also there

Cassie and Cheryl are also there, with Cheryl feeling much better now.    Cassie wants to ask her something;  

"Would you like a job with more responsibility?"

“Things are very tight at the moment with the reopening – I don’t want anyone to make any silly mistakes and I have a hundred things to do.   Would you like a job with more responsibility?   You could keep track of the work and the materials that we buy from APD.   

"I'll pay you, of course"

“I’ll pay you, of course – but not much more.”

"Yeah, I'll do it"

Cheryl is very happy to accept the offer and is told that Cassie cannot manage without her.   

Tom comes in

Tom comes in through the door, asking if she is OK.   

"I've go this box set"

“I’ve got this box set I think you’d really like,” he tells her, but she protests that she is on her way to work.   “No, tonight I meant, I have to get my things from Llwyncelyn first,” he goes on, 

Cassie thinks he is up to something 

while Cassie looks suspiciously at him.

Cheryl is surprised that he has heard from Gaynor, and he says that he is no longer welcome there;  

"Do you know of anywhere else I can go?"

“Do you know of anywhere else I can go?”   

"Right, are you ready?"

Cassie interrupts to say that she is just going, so Cheryl leaves with her.

"You and Tom are spending a lot of time together"

As soon as they get outside, Cassie asks, “Cheryl, you and Tom are spending a lot of time together.”   

It is explained that is because of Gaynor being ill.   “Is he treating you well?” is the next question.

"He's changed a lot"

Cheryl maintains that he has changed a lot 

Gaynor comes hobbling along

and then they see Gaynor approaching with her two crutches, and Cassie asks how she is.   She is not pleased to see Cheryl there, replying that her body is getting slowly better, 

"My head is all over the place"

but her head is all over the place.

When Cassie asks what is the problem, 

"Why don't you ask my dear sister . . ."

she is told, “Why don’t you ask my dear sister, 

". . . who's been fooling around with Tom behind my back?"

“who’s been fooling around with Tom behind my back?”

"You're rescuing me from the paperwork"

Tom goes to see Hywel, who says that he is happy to be rescued from the paperwork.   Tom says that he is ‘fine-ish’ and is invited to sit down.   Hywel enquires how Gaynor is 

"We've finished"

and is told, “I don’t know – we’ve finished.”

Hywel is surprised

Hywel is surprised to hear that;  “Sorry if I’m over-sharing here, but I'm not doing very well at the moment – 

"I don't have any friends to talk to"

“and I don’t have many friends to talk to.”

Tom is asked whether he ended it and explains, “I found myself in a situation with another woman – do you understand?”   

Hywel certainly does understand

It is a situation in which Hywel has often found himself, so he does understand, 

"Who is she?"

wondering who it is.

"Cheryl"

“Cheryl,” is the answer, which Hywel finds surprising.

Jinx is at Cysgod y Glyn again

Eleri has a visitor in the form of Jinx;  

"I'm not here for that!"

she is very eager to start undressing him, but he stops her, pointing out, “I’m not here for that, OK?”

"Why are you here, then?"

She demands, “So why are you here then?   I could be in the office, doing paperwork.”   

He reminds her that he is engaged to someone who is having a terrible time, but she simply maintains that Dani will not find out.

"But she wants to marry me"

But she wants to marry me,” he continues, 

"Yeah – I can't quite understand that"

which is something that Eleri does not quite understand.   “This isn’t a joke,” he growls, “I can’t finish with her – not now!”

"Don't then – I'm not asking you to"

“Well, don’t then – I’m not asking you to – why are you making it so complicated?” she demands. 

"We have to finish, all right?"

“We have to finish, all right?   This can’t carry on.”   She points out that they have an understanding – 

"It's a hobby we both enjoy . . ."

it is a hobby that they both enjoy – like playing golf – it’s simple.

". . . just stress relief"

As she takes his hand, she continues, “Just stress relief from a life that sounds pretty stressed to me.”   She drags him towards the bedroom;  “So do you still want to talk or . . ?”   

What is the matter with Jinx these days?"

He meekly (or spinelessly) follows her out of the room.

"She doesn't deserve this"

“I realise these things happen, but I’m not happy with the way you’re treating Gaynor – she doesn’t deserve this!” Hywel berates Tom, who agrees that he is absolutely right.

"Cher didn't seem to care much"

“Although I have feelings for Cheryl, I shouldn’t have done that to Gaynor.   I tried to tell Cher that at the time, but she didn’t seem to care that much.

"She didn't care she was kissing her sister's boyfriend?"

“She didn’t care that she was kissing her sister’s boyfriend?” demands Hywel, incredulously.   

"It's been playing on my mind"

Tom says that it has been playing on his mind;  

"She's using me to get to Gaynor"

he just gets this feeling, which is hard to explain, that she is using him to get to Gaynor, somehow.

“But who would do that to her own sister?” demands Tom.   

"I'm surprised they're sisters"

Hywel knows that Cheryl has told so many lies that he is surprised that they are sisters, to be honest.

"You don't think she's lying about that?"

“You don’t think she’s lying about that, do you?” says Tom, 

"Well, you know her better than me"

but Hywel points out that Tom knows her better;  what does he think?

"I don't know, Hywel"

Tom manages to keep a straight face as he maintains that he does not know the answer, 

"They would have to have a DNA test"

and Hywel suggests, “They would have to have a DNA test, like I did with Ieuan.”

"That's a bit extreme"

Tom maintains that this is a bit extreme, but is told that it is the best way to make sure.   “Cheryl won’t agree to that, especially if she’s been lying.”   Hywel is sure that there must be a way.   Tom must not give any sign that Hywel has taken his bait.

After indulging in their 'hobby' . . .

After pursuing their ‘hobby’, Eleri makes a tiny cup of coffee for Jinx;  “Here you go, to help you get your energy back,” she says, then complains, 

"Christmas – disgusting!"

“Kath has been spewing Christmas all over my flat this morning – disgusting!”   

"Scrooge!"

Jinx is surprised that she does not like Christmas, but she hates it;  he describes her as Scrooge and wonders why she hates it.

"It's soppy, isn't it?"

“You know, it’s soppy isn’t it?   A reason for people to play happy families, even if they’re not very happy.   Right, I need to get back to work – 

"Drink that coffee and then you can go"

“drink that coffee and then you can go.”

"I'm at work"

Cheryl is outside the Deri again when Tom approaches once more;  she immediately tells him she is at work, which he already knows and says that he is not staying.   He invites her to close her eyes and she wonders why;  

"I know you don't like presents"

“I know you don’t like presents – so it’s not a present, just something to make you feel better.   I saw Gaynor being mean to you.”

"I deserved it"

Cheryl replies that she deserved it, but he describes Gaynor’s actions as ‘nasty’.   

He presents her with a pendant

He presents her with a little pendant;  “To give you a hug when you need it!”   She thanks him and takes it, but he continues, “And it’s all right if I stay on your sofa tonight, isn’t it?”

"You what?"

Cheryl was not expecting that, 

"I thought we discussed it earlier"

so he alleges that they discussed it in Tamed earlier;  “It’s all right, don’t worry if you’ve changed your mind – 

"I'll find somewhere else"

“I’ll find somewhere else, the office or somewhere.”

She hands over a key

She agrees to give him the key to Maes-y-Deri, as he knew she would, but warns him that it is just on the sofa.   

Cassie emerges from the Deri

Cassie has just come out of the Deri and witnesses this conversation, so he leaves quite rapidly.   

Cassie is keeping a careful eye on him

She certainly does not like the look of him.

Jinx is buying a Christmas Tree decoration

Jinx is looking on his phone at a ‘Bah Humbug’ Christmas tree decoration, which he decides to buy.   

Eleri is now fully dressed

Eleri has now put on her office gear and is telling him to leave when the buzzer sounds.   

"Who's that?"

Jinx wonders who it is, but is told that Kath and Brynmor are out all day, and in any case, they have a key.

"It's Ffion"

They discover that it is Ffion, who is already coming up the stairs, 

He hides by the sink

so Jinx does his best to hide by the sink.   

"Kath called about the hot water"          

“I hope you don’t mind me landing on you,” says Ffion, “Kath called about the hot water.”   

"Cup of tea?   Whisky?"

Eleri offers her a cup of tea, and then a drink, both of which Ffion declines.

"The boiler's a bit temperamental"

“You haven’t got hot water, then?   It might be pressure in the boiler – sometimes it works if you run the tap for a while – it’s a bit temperamental.”   She is about to go and look at the boiler, which is situated where Jinx is secreted, 

"It's working again now"

so Eleri replies that it is working again now, 

Ffion leaves again . . .

which surprises Ffion and she leaves again.

. . . and Jinx reappears

Eleri looks very pleased with herself as Jinx climbs from his hiding place;  

"It looks like you need to destress again!"

“Well – it looks like you need to de-stress again!” she tells him.

"What if she'd seen me?"

“What if she’d seen me?” Jinx exclaims – “I’m meeting her for lunch in a minute!”   

"Better hang on for a while, then"

He is advised to leave it for while before leaving in case Ffion sees him.

"You know, don't you?"

Hywel has gone to Llwyncelyn, where he makes Gaynor a cup of tea and ask if she would like a biscuit.   She realises that he knows the situation, 

"What she's done is disgraceful!

“And I think what she’s done is disgraceful!” he replies.   

At least Gaynor is happy that he is out of her life now, but he wonders how she feels about Cheryl.   

"You've never liked her, have you?"

“Don’t start!” Gaynor snarls, “You’ve never liked her, have you?” 

Hywel reminds her, “She lands here out of nowhere, she uses you and lies about Tom.   No, I don’t like her and I don’t respect her either.   

"She might not be your sister . . ."

“With all these lies, have you considered that she might not be your sister?   

". . . sisters don't treat each other like this"

“Sisters don’t treat each other like this, do they?”

"She spent too long with Mam"

Gaynor thinks the reason is that she spent too long with their Mam and has never really questioned it.   

"You should think about it . . ."

Hywel is of the opinion that she should think about it;  

". . . and there's an easy way to prove it"

“And there’s an easy way to prove it.”   The seed has been planted in Gaynor’s  mind.

Ffion is in the deli

Ffion is in the deli and Tom, 

"Is Tom never working 

at the counter, is looking at her;  when he has collected his purchase, 

He drops something . . .

he turns and, accidentally, on purpose, drops something near Ffion’s table.   

. . . and picks up something else

While picking it up, he snaffles something else as well and smartly leaves, 

Jinx comes in

just as Jinx is coming in.

"Sorry I'm late"

“Sorry I’m late,” he says.   

"Eleri's behaving oddly"

Ffion informs him that she has just been to Cysgod y Glyn to see how Eleri is getting on, where she behaved oddly.   “She offered me a drink – but at midday?   The way she was behaving, she may well have had a couple herself – I’m telling you she was odd!”

"Let's choose what we're eating"

He suggests that they should choose what they are having for lunch and Ffion detects that he is stressed, wondering how things are between him and Dani;  “Have you started organising the wedding yet?”   

"Shall we have this?"

He would rather talk about what they are going to eat, 

"You have to talk to her!"

but yet again, Ffion advises, “If you’re not happy, you have to talk to her.   You’ve got nothing to gain by dragging this out.”

Then there is a call from Dani . . .

His phone sounds and he finds a FaceTime call from Dani;  

. . . who has bought the dress

“I’ve got news for you – I’ve found a wedding dress and I love it – it was cheap because it was in the Christmas sale – and I just bought it!   It will need a few alterations before February, but it’s exciting!”

"That's great"

Jinx agrees that it is great, 

Ffion disapproves

to the consternation of Ffion;  “Is Ffion with you?” asks Dani 

"It's planned for 14th of February"

and informs her that it is planned for the 14th of February.

Eleri comes in

While this is going on, Eleri arrives, which makes Jinx nervous.   Ffion is telling her, “Dani and Jinx are getting married in February!”   

"Thy don't waste much time"

Eleri comments that they do not waste much time.

“When you’ve found ‘the one’,” says Dani, “Now I’m off to find a suit for Jinx, so I’ll see you later.”   Eleri rather bitterly comments that she is going to buy cheese.   

They look at each other

Ffion and Jinx look at each other.

"I wasn't expecting you back yet"

At Maes-y-Deri, Tom arrives and was not expecting that Cheryl would be back until later.   

"I've brought some food"

He has brought some food for them.   

"It's Cassie, checking that I'm OK"

Cassie has messaged Cheryl, checking that she is OK.   

"Tell her I'm here to look after you"

“It’s none of Cassie’s business, is it?” he says, “Just tell her I’m here to look after you.”   

"I haven't seen that since school"

He has also brought a couple of DVDs, which she says she has not seen since school.

“How did you remember that I love this?”   

"I'll go and get some plates"

He replies that he knows her and will go and get some plates.   

He goes into the hall . . .

Walking into the hallway, 

. . . takes what he picked up in the deli . . .

he takes a hairbrush from his pocket, presumably Ffion’s, 

. . . and places it in the cupboard

opens the door of the under-stairs cupboard and puts the brush inside.

"You put a roof over her head"

Hywel continues to work on Gaynor;  “You put a roof over her head and food in her stomach – and you haven’t asked for anything in return from her.”   

"That's what you do for family"

Gaynor replies that is what you do for family.   “You haven’t done anything wrong here – 

"And if she's not your sister . . ."

“and if she’s not your sister, well . . .”

"I need to take this test, don't I?"

Gaynor has come to the realisation that she does need to take this test;  

"The only way we can prove she's telling the truth"

he stresses that it is the only way she can prove if Cheryl is telling the truth.

"Fine, I'll do it!"

“Fine, I’ll do it!” Gaynor decides

Dani has not had a satisfying experience

Back in the posh bar for their meal, Dani says that she is fed up;  “The centrepieces I’ve seen are all boring or beige!   I can’t find suits for you, either.”

"There's no point rushing, is there?"

Jinx stresses that there is no point rushing to organise everything at once;  

"If I don't, it won't be ready"

she answers that if she does not do it, it won’t be ready.   

"Have you thought about changing the date?"

“Have you thought about changing the date of the wedding?” 

"You're having second thoughts"

he suggests and she works out that he is having second thoughts, something which he denies.

"Why – are you?"

“Why – are you?” he says, hopefully.

“Do you know what, Jinx?   I wake in the morning and for a second I forget everything – then reality kicks in.   

"It's the only thing keeping me going"

“The only thing that’s keeping me going is you and this wedding.   But if you’re not ready and you want to walk away, I understand.”

"I'm not going anywhere"

Once again, he chickens out and assures her, “I’m not going anywhere, OK?   But I do think you should go to Spain.   If you want this wedding to be ready by February and a day to remember, you need to go out there to organise it – find the best places for photographs – 

"You might even get inspiration"

“you might even get inspiration for your centrepieces.”

"Honeymoon before the wedding?"

“A honeymoon before the wedding?   What about the children?” Dani wonders, 

"I won't be able to go"

and he points out that he will not be able to go;  he has got too many Christmas parties with The Pizza Place.   

"I wouldn't be able to afford the wedding"

They would make a big loss and would not be able to afford the wedding.

"You should go with Gabriel"

“You should go with Gabriel – Gwern can stay with me – it will do you good to have some distance – I’ll keep him busy at The Pizza Place.”

"But you'll be working"

“But you’ll be working while I’m enjoying myself,” protests Dani, but he is adamant that she needs time away.

"Don't buy me a flamenco suit"

There is just one proviso;  “Don’t buy me a flamenco suit.   I think the world of you, OK?”