Cwmderi Diary 2018: 12 March 2018

"Mam, are you in there?"

Sioned is banging on the door of the shop and shouting for her mother;

"The sign says 'closed'!"

then Eileen arrives in the car, looking very disapproving. “The sign says ‘closed’!” she points out,

"You've got a nerve, coming here!"

“You’ve got a nerve, coming here after planting Sara’s wallet upstairs! So this is how you’re going to play it – pretending you don’t know anything.”

"I don't know anything about it!"

Sioned protests that she does not in fact know anything, but Eileen goes on, “If you were trying to upset things for Jim and me by making us suspect each other, it didn’t work. You like hurting people, but I could hurt you far more if I reported you to the police!” Sioned is speechless.

They have missed each other over the weekend

Hannah is waiting outside for Chester, and has missed him all weekend; “It’s so stupid that we can’t see each other,” he moans,

They have both been driven mad

“Mam nearly drove me mad this weekend!” Hannah has had the same problem with her Gran, and has been thinking a lot of what he said, about running away.

"It's the only way we can get away from this stress!"

“You’re right – it’s the only way we can get away from all this stress!” she tells him,

"I can't take much more of this nonsense"

“I can’t take much more of this nonsense. Where do you think we should go?”

"We can go wherever you want"

Chester assures her they can go wherever she wants, as long as they are together.

"Why would I want to steal it?"

Sioned continues to demand why she would want to steal Sara’s wallet, blame Eifion and then frame her mother. “It doesn’t make any sense!”

"Nothing you do makes sense!"

Eileen replies that nothing she does makes sense, and would not be surprised if Sioned were lying about the letter, too.

"It's nothing to do with me!"

“You know that wasn’t me!” insists Sioned, but Eileen maintains that this wallet business changes everything. “Neither the wallet nor the letter have anything to do with me!” rages Sioned,

"I would never have been that cruel!"

“I would never have said you shouldn’t have had children! I can be cruel, but I would never have said that, not after I lost a baby, not after you lost John.

"What's the point?"

“I swear, on his grave, I didn’t do this. I’ve tried my best to move on since I’ve been back, but what’s the point? I’m going to be blamed for everything that happens here anyway.”

The suspension imposed by Gaynor has not lasted long

Chester and Hannah appear to be back at their lessons, despite having been suspended for an indeterminate period on Friday. Hannah has had an idea,

"Why don't we go to Sydney?"

“Why don’t we go to Sydney? It’s an awesome idea – Mam will never be as strict as Gran or your mother. We can do what we want, when we want without hassle – she won’t treat us like kids.

Hannah extols the benefits of Australia

“It would be great to be there to help her – the house is huge – we wouldn’t be in each other’s way. You can meet my friends, we can have barbecues and go to the beach, surfing – it will be so cool.”

Then the financial problem rears its ugly head . . .

Chester wonders where they will get the money to go there; he has £280 savings, and Hannah has less than that,

. . . and Hannah gives up hope

so concludes that it is the end of the idea. Chester, on the other hand, vows to find the money somehow

DJ is being taken in by Catrin's scam

At Awyr Iach, DJ is eagerly looking at his phone and has found the profile of Non, put on the dating site by Catrin.

"I'm just checking the invoices"

Sara interrupts him, but he is very reluctant to tell her why he is grinning like a Cheshire cat. She has been to visit Tyler, who is apparently overwhelmed with grapes.

"You can't lie to save your life!"

She advises him that he cannot lie to save his life, and he finally admits that he has sent someone a message on that dating app,

"I'm not telling you who it is!"

but is not revealing the identity of the lucky girl.

Catrin explains her plan to Anna and Malan

At school, in the canteen, Catrin is surprised to have received a message, and reveals to her friends, Anna and Malan, “I’m not dating, but Miss Mererid is! Things have been awkward at home between Mam and Col – it was Miss Mererid’s fault – she had a crush on Col, so I got really angry and put her online, so everyone can see how desperate she is!”

"Cat, you're nuts!"

They describe Catrin as ‘nuts’.

Now, DJ has taken the bait . . .

“But now, DJ, this bloke from Cwmderi, has answered, saying he likes her profile.

. . . and Catrin is having second thoughts

“I don’t know what to do – I think I’ve gone too far!” On the contrary, her friends tell her to answer, and think this situation is a classic.

"What are you after, Chester?"

Ricky arrives at Maes-y-Deri with Chester, and is suspicious; “You wouldn’t buy me sausage, chips, and a drink unless you wanted something.”

"How much – a fiver or a tenner?"

Chester replies that he needs to borrow money – not just a tenner,

"No, Rick – real money!"

but real money. As he will not tell Ricky what he needs it for,

"Sorry, but no"

he is told that the answer is no.

When Chester hears that Ricky has only about £70, he quickly loses interest;

"It's not worth the hassle for £70!"

“Forget it – it’s not worth the hassle for £70!” he says, as he leaves.

"What if she takes it to the police?"

In the café, Sioned worries that Sara might take the wallet to the police, but Gwyneth reassures her that she would have done that by now. “Who would hide it in the shop flat?” Sioned demands, “And write that letter to Mam?

"Who would want to hurt Mam?"

“Someone wants to hurt her – who would want to do that?”

"That's not your problem, Sioned"

Gwyneth maintains that she does not know, and wonders whether Sioned’s mother believed her. She urges Sioned not to go to work this afternoon as this has upset her;

She tries to get Sioned to stay with her today

“Customers don’t want to be served by someone with that long face – Garry would probably give you the sack!”

"Garry will sack me if I don't turn up!"

Sioned replies that he will sack her if she does not turn up, and she needs the money. She is simply going to carry on.

"No luck with Ricky!"

Chester returns to school and reports to Hannah that he was not able to get money from Ricky, as he only has £70. She is becoming disillusioned;

"What are we going to do?"

“We’re not going to get far on £500 – so what are we going to do?”

"Gwyneth offered to lend me money"

The realisation suddenly dawns upon him that Gwyneth offered to lend him money; “I could pretend I’ve changed my mind about buying a car,” he announces,

"I'll see her straight after school!"

“I’ll go to see her straight after school!”

Eileen now believes Sioned

As they eat their meal, Eileen tells Jim that Sioned swore on John’s grave that she had nothing to do with the wallet, nor the letter. “She wouldn’t do that lightly – I believe her – which means that someone else has been here.”

"But someone is out to get me!"

She does not know who else would want to upset her; “But someone is out to get me! What if they come back?”

"The place will be like Fort Knox!"

Jim assures her that he will protect her, and as the first step, he will change all the locks today; “Then you will be perfectly safe – this place will be like Fort Knox!”

DJ is still checking his phone

In the Deri, DJ once more checks his phone, and tells Sara that she has not replied yet. “Perhaps she doesn’t like the message I sent,” he frets,

"Why hasn't she answered?"

“I only said I like her profile. Why hasn’t she answered?”

"Do have some patience, DJ!"

Sara tells him there are any number of reasons, and urges him to have some patience.

She adds that she has given Kath a few hours’ work, now that business has started picking up again.

It is not the mystery woman, this time

Then DJ’s phone sounds, but, disappointingly, it is not the mystery woman.

"Why are you so eager to see me?"

Gwyneth comes to the chippy flat, and wonders why Chester is so eager to see her,

"Does the offer of that loan still stand?"

and he asks whether the offer to lend him money still stands. “I’ve changed my mind about buying a car –

"Is £2,500 too much?"

“£2,500 – could you lend me that much?”

She is pleased to accommodate him,

"The interest is 10%"

but points out the 10% interest rate (carefully omitting the fact that it is 10% per month). She asks how he plans to repay the money, and he tells her he works in APD and has a job downstairs.

"You'll need insurance and other things"

She reminds him that he will need insurance and other expenses, but he replies that they are all sorted, and he just wants to get hold of the money.

Gwyneth informs him that he will have to sign a contract, as it is a formal contract from the start.

"Right – where do I sign?"

“Of course – where do I sign?” Chester demands.

These three are still winding up DJ . . .

In the café, Catrin and her two friends are still laughing over the online dating.

. . . and compose a reply, supposedly from Non

Catrin has typed, “You look a beaut in your bodywarmer, and you’ve got a gorgeous smile.” They encourage her to send the message,

"What's the joke then, girls?"

and just at that moment Non comes in, asking them to share their joke, but they say nothing.

Non has a conversation with Gwen

Non goes to talk to Gwen.

Sara gives DJ a box of paperwork

DJ has gone to number 9 to collect a box of Awyr Iach paperwork,

"I wish Jason would come home!"

and Sara is wishing that Jason would come home.

"I think perhaps she likes me!"

DJ’s phone sounds and he is very pleasantly surprised by the message he reads. “I think that perhaps she likes me,” he says.

"You've got a nerve, asking me to bring this here!"

Ricky arrives at the chip shop flat, complaining, “You’ve got a nerve, asking me to bring this here!” Chester explains that he and Hannah are leaving Cwmderi, and that he needed the money to get to Australia.

"It's impossible to stay here!"

“Mam and Diane have made it impossible for us to stay here, so we’re leaving! I didn’t want to tell you earlier, because I didn’t want to put you under pressure to keep a secret. No-one knows that we’re going.

"I want to use your laptop to book the tickets"

“I’ve raised the money, and I want to use your laptop to book the tickets – Mam has taken mine off me!”

"You can't leave, just like that!"

Ricky protests that they cannot leave just like that, but Chester points out, “It will be better in Sydney – Hannah’s Mam is really chilled, but she doesn’t know that we’re coming, otherwise she will phone Diane, and once she and Mam know, there will be fireworks!”

"You haven't thought this through!"

Ricky says that they have not thought this through; “What about school? Aren’t you concerned you’re giving it all up?” Chester insists that it is worth it if he can be with Hannah.