Cwmderi Diary 2016: 23 June 2016

DJ is deep in thought

DJ looks at the photo of Dic Deryn, gets out his phone

He almost phones Dic

and is about to call “Dad”, but hesitates.

"Bacon and mushrooms"

Dai is cooking breakfast; “Bacon and mushrooms – you like that, don’t you?” he asks Diane, but, without a word, she picks up her bag and walks out.

Courtney opens a card

Courtney opens her card from Jim, then he hands her a box;

She opens the box

inside are a set of “D” plates (learner). “How did you know?” she asks,

"Matilda is ready!"

then receives a text from Eifion, advising that Matilda is ready.

She does not want to be late for school, but Jim insists he has something else to show her.

"No peeking!"

He blindfolds her and leads her outside;

Courtney is taken aback

when she sees the car, CA65HCE, complete with a large pink bow, she is very confused.

Matilda arrives . . .

At that moment a car horn sounds and Eifion drives round the corner in Matilda, R355ETX,

. . . with all her embellishments

which has been equipped with flower vinyls and eyelashes over the headlights.

Eifion presents her with the keys; “Happy birthday!” he says, while Jim demands what is going on.

Courtney tries to explain

Courtney explains that she was not expecting her father to buy her a car, and that Eifion bought her the one she had fallen in love with.

"Take this shed back to the garage!"

“You had no right to buy her a car!” rants Jim, “She can’t have two – take this shed back to the garage!” Courtney is adamant that she wants Matilda, and that he should have warned her what he intended to do. “Oh no – I’m perfectly happy that someone else has bought you a car!” he shouts and marches off.

"I didn't hear you come to bed"

Cadno tells DJ that she did not hear him come to bed last night;

"If you hadn't forced me to let her stay . . ."

“I didn’t,” he replies, “If you hadn’t forced me to let her stay, none of this would have happened.”

"The truth was bound to come out"

Cadno maintains that the truth was bound to come out, and that Dai is to blame for this, calling himself Dic.

“If the test comes back positive, when we have children, I promise that I won’t be like him – I’ll be a good father – I like the idea of a little DJ running round the place. I’ve always wanted them – two at least. Do you think I’ll make a good father? A brother or sister for Bobi and Arthur.”

"I've been sterilised"

Cadno is troubled; “I can’t have any more – when Eifion and I separated, we were worried about the boys and their inheritance. If Eifion and Angela had any more children, that would put it at risk. We agreed that I would be sterilized and he would have the snip – but he chickened out!”

"You tricked me!"

DJ demands why she did not tell him this; “It changes everything – you tricked me! Not telling the truth is as bad as telling lies, like Uncle David. I’ve been sitting in the kitchen all night, trying to make sense of it. The only comfort I had was knowing I had you.

"I've lost my future now!"

“The past might not matter – at least I had a normal, happy future with you. Now I’ve lost that as well!”

Off goes DJ

He trudges off across the farmyard.

Ffion finds Gethin

Ffion finds Gethin at school, and he tells her that Gaynor has given him some marking to do;

"I don't understand half the questions"

“I don’t understand half of the questions, let alone the answers!” he complains, “I have to go to the bank.” She accuses him of running away, as he cannot stand being at school a moment longer than necessary.

"A pint and a large whisky!"

DJ, already the worse for wear, arrives at the Deri and orders a pint and a large whisky. “I’ve been at The Bull, if it’s any of your business!” he tells Eifion.

"You've done enough damage!"

“You’ve done enough damage already, and ruined people’s lives! You tricked Cadno, forcing her to be sterilised, but then wouldn’t have the snip yourself! It affects me now – Cadno cannot have children, and I’ll never be a father!”

Gethin tries to phone Cadno

Gethin has just arrived, and Eifion asks him to ring Cadno, as DJ is ‘smashed’. As there is no reply, Eifion suggests contacting Dai. This starts off DJ, “Oh yes, Uncle David – don’t phone him – I never want to see him again!”

"If I want to drink it, I shall"

Eifion replies, “You’ve had more than enough – you can’t handle your beer!” DJ is determined to drink what he wants.

"What do you expect me to do?"

Dai answers the phone; “What do you expect me to do? No, don’t call the police, for goodness’ sake – I’ll be over!” He picks up his keys and goes.

DJ in a drunken stupor

They manhandle DJ to a sofa, where he collapses in a heap; Eifion concludes that he and Cadno have argued.

"I'll punch every one of you!"

DJ comes round long enough to threaten, “If I see Uncle David in here, I’ll punch every one of you!”

The text from Daniel

Gethin receives a text from Daniel; “Hello Sir! How’s it going?” Gethin admits to Eifion,

"I hate every minute of it!"

“Between you and me, I hate every minute of it, but I want Daniel to be proud of me.”

“The world would stop without mechanics – you’ve got a good job – why work any harder than you have to?” is Eifion’s opinion.

Dai surveys the task ahead of him

Dai arrives and is told that DJ was like a wild animal earlier.

"She chose that old crock over mine!"

Jim is still moaning to Eileen about Eifion going behind his back “She chose that old crock over mine! It looks awful – the car I bought was so much nicer! I think he’s a bad influence on her –

"Goodness knows what goes on in that house!"

“goodness knows what goes on in that house!”

"He stopped her sleeping with Mathew"

Eileen stands up for Eifion; “He stopped Courtney sleeping with Mathew a while ago.” Jim reckons the reason he did that was that he wanted to do the same thing. Eileen admits that they did kiss the other day, but there is nothing more to it than that.

Dai exhibits superhuman strength

Dai has somehow dragged DJ back to Bryntirion,

He is prepared for every eventuality

and provides a drink of water and the washing-up bowl in readiness. When Diane returns, she comments,

"He's more welcome here than you are!"

“He’s his father’s son, obviously! He’s more welcome here than you are – if you can cheat on one wife, you can do it again!”

"Just like you did with Reg!"

“Just like you did with Reg!” is Dai’s angry retort, “You conveniently forgot that! Come to think of it, I cheated on Sabrina too – with you!

"You wait until those results come back!"

“You wait until those results come back – they’ll prove he’s not my son!”

Fisticuffs between Jim and Eifion

Jim is getting physical with Eifion; “So you tried your luck with Courtney, you little pervert!

"You're grooming her!"

“That’s why you bought the car! You’re grooming her over here!”

So saying he grabs Eifion again, and Eileen tries to separate them, but then Courtney arrives.

"He's done nothing – it was my fault!"

“He’s done nothing – it was my fault!” she shouts, “I wanted a car and he offered me one – I was so happy, I gave him a cwtch and before I knew what I was doing,, I kissed him. It gave him such a shock, he asked me to move out.”

"I accept it was a mistake"

Eifion adds, “Yes, I know it’s wrong Jim, and I don’t want people jumping to disgusting conclusions, like you. I asked her to move to the shop with you, but now I accept it was a mistake. I’m disappointed you think so little of me – I’m her stepfather, and it wouldn’t cross my mind to do anything like that!”

"But I love Matilda, Dad!"

Jim has calmed down by now, and Courtney assures him that she is grateful, but she just loves Matilda. He hopes that he can get his money back, as he will need to buy petrol now.

"I've got a Saturday job now"

She announces that she will be able to buy that as she now has a Saturday job in town.

"As long as you don't lose your temper"

“I’m teaching you to drive – right? So I can prove I’m good for something,” Jim insists. Courtney agrees on condition that he does not lose his temper, and that he apologises to Eifion. “At least you’ll never get a parking ticket,” Jim predicts.

“Is there any chance of a slice of cake?” remarks Courtney, “After all, it is my birthday.”