08/10/2025

Chris shares news of how Martha’s doing at school with Susan and Neil. When Susan mentions the rat situation at church, Neil reckons Susan’s handling everything brilliantly. The last few months have been so tricky for the shop. Talk turns to George’s release tomorrow. Susan reckons it would mean a lot to Emma if Chris could show his face at the party on Friday, but Chris is adamant he won’t go. He’s happy for Emma that she’ll have George back, but he’ll never be family to him. Susan and Neil understand.

Susan has the idea to offer deliveries while the shop’s closed. Neil’s not keen initially, but soon gets on board with it and helps her load up with essentials. While they’re at the church they share a quiet moment of contemplation. They feel thankful and count their blessings, admitting they’ll never stop loving George no matter what.

Jolene admits to Chris and Fallon she feels relieved George is being released on time, having felt dreadful about getting him involved in their troubles. Fallon agrees it wasn’t fair to ask George for help; he made a brave choice. Chris can still only feel contempt. He hopes George has changed but he’s not holding his breath. Later Chris opens up to Fallon about his feelings towards Alice. There’s still the nagging worry that she might drink again. He admits when they were going through those times he questioned himself and knew that deep down Alice’s drinking was becoming a problem. He’ll never love anyone the way he loved Alice – but he can never be with her again.