- Brenda tells Vicky
- Tom tells Pat
- Nic tells Emma
- Brenda’s moving out
- Vicky tells Mike
Brenda tells Vicky
While Mike’s off at the pub playing darts, Brenda’s over visiting Vicky and Bethany.
Vicky wonders what Tom is up to.
[Vicky] “You two don’t see enough of each other.”
[Brenda] “No, that isn’t it …”
Brenda starts crying.
[Brenda] “The thing is, Vicky, we’ve split up … lots of reasons, but basically we just want very different things in life.”
[Vicky] “Are you sure? All couples go through these difficult patches.”
[Brenda] “This isn’t a patch. It got clearer and clearer to me that we were just going in different directions.”
[Vicky] “You told him that?”
[Brenda] “It’s the hardest thing I ever did. I thought at least it'd be a relief to stop pretending, but it’s so hard … It’s so difficult that we’re still living in the same house. Making polite conversation like strangers …Tom’s house is so small.”
[Vicky] “Tom’s house?”
[Brenda] “Yes, that’s what it feels like now.”
[Vicky] “There’s really no way back?”
[Brenda] “No. It’s over.”
Vicky invites Brenda to come and stay at home. Though her only option would be the sofa, or Bethany’s room.
[Brenda] “I’m not going to turn Beth out of her nursery.”
[Vicky] “Mike wouldn’t like to think you can’t come home.”
On Mike, Brenda reckons she can’t see him right now. She reckons he’ll be devastated.
[Brenda] “Dad, he’s known Tom all his life.”
So Vicky suggests she talk to him.
Oh dear.
Once the family is told, it really is official.
Tom tells Pat
Pat’s round to see Tom, with the intention of getting him to talk about getting rid of the dairy herd.
[Pat] “This is the single most important decision we’ve taken at Bridge Farm for years … you seem to have lost interest in it.”
Tom tells her he’s preoccupied.
[Pat] “How can anything be as important as this?”
Tom starts crying.
[Tom] “Brenda and me … we’ve split up.”
(all thoughts of cows go straight out of Pat’s mind)
[Pat] “You mustn’t blame yourself.”
[Tom] “Who else is there to blame? Brenda can’t help the way she feels …”
[Pat] “This children thing, I know she said she didn’t want them yet … “
[Tom] “Yes, I should’ve guessed then.”
[Pat] “How could you. You saw how much she loved Bethany when she arrived.”
Seems both Pat and Tom thought Brenda had changed her mind about having kids when they saw her with Bethany. Not that I can quite recall Brenda make much noise about not wanting to be a mother …
[Pat] “I couldn’t have guessed it’d have the opposite effect.”
Tom has been thinking hard. He’s spotted that maybe children is a red herring – a way for Brenda to let Tom “down gently”.
[Tom] “Maybe that wasn’t exactly the truth. Maybe the truth was she just didn’t want to have children with me. I’ve failed her mum, I’ve failed her in every possible way, and now it’s too late.”
Tom’s now sobbing …
Nic tells Emma
Nic tells Emma that she’s pregnant.
[Emma] “Oh. Oh, I see, er, congratulations …”
(my word, Emma almost spat that out!)
Emma really isn’t pleased at all. She reminds Nic that George was Eddie and Clarrie’s first grandchild. And reads the riot act about making sure that George isn’t upset about the new baby (aye, like she was soooo careful with him when Keira was born).
[Emma] “Let me know when you’re going to do it, just in case I have to pick up the pieces.”
Ever positive, Nic tries to find reasons why Emma should be happy. Like, now all the kids in their lives will have a sibling in common (what a modern family they are …)/
[Emma, spitting again] “Yeah, so we’ll all be one big happy family, no wonder Clarrie’s thrilled!”
Brenda’s moving out
Back home, Tom and Brenda compare notes:
[Tom] “Mum doesn’t understand either, not really.”
[Brenda] “Is she very cross with me?”
[Tom] “Of course not. She’s just bemused.”
[Brenda] “It’s hard. We’ve the only ones that knew what was going on.”
[Tom] “I didn’t.”
(ouch!)
As difficult as they found having to tell Vicky and Pat today, Tom reminds that it’s only the start. They’ll have to tell friends, and it’ll obviously then get around the village.
[Brenda] “That has to happen. We have to move on.”
[Tom] “To what?”
[Brenda] “I dunno. But we can’t do it while I’m still living here … we can’t keep having these conversations.”
[Tom] “I’ll just keep quite then …”
[Brenda] “No, that’s even worse.”
So, Brenda thinks it time she moved out.
Which is quite right. But I am increasing starting to feel more and more sorry for Tom (which I’ve never felt before).
Vicky tells Mike
[Mike] “I really thought they were made for each other.”
[Vicky] “Maybe they were once, but people change.”
[Mike] “Not Tom … I thought he was the man to look after my Brenda, I really did … for her to do this, things must have got really bad.”
[Vicky] “She just gradually realised.”
Both Mike and Vicky feel they still should have noticed something was wrong. But, they also know their attention has been on Bethany.
So … where should Brenda lived?
Their place is too small. Mike hates the idea of Brenda living by herself:
[Mike] “She can’t end up on her own in a flat somewhere … she needs to be with her family at a time like this.”
So, he reckons Hayley and Roy would be perfect. Seems they have plenty of room.
Wonder how Hayley and Roy will feel about that!
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