462
A
while later, Irene arrives at the Fisher house and Todd takes her coat. Irene
tells Todd and Amanda
that she had an unexpected visitor. Irene is impressed by the modern look
of the house and Amanda tells
her that Karen organised the redecorations. Todd tells Irene that Karen is
the lady his dad is living with.
Irene asks if Karen will be joining them for dinner. Todd says she went out
a while ago and, if she gets
a better offer, she might not make it back. Amanda tells Irene it must be
strange for her, walking into
somewhere that used to be home. Irene says she hardly recognises the place.
Karen arrives and Todd
introduces her to Irene. They pretend they haven't met before, and Todd gets
Karen a drink. Karen tells
Irene she's got Todd well trained and Irene says "Very."
A bit later, they have finished their starters and Todd takes the plates to
the kitchen. Amanda tells Karen
she thinks the house looks wonderful - it's better than having antiques all
over the place. Karen tells her
it was designed by Kenneth Dawson, a famous designer, and Amanda is impressed.
Irene looks totally
bored. Karen tells Irene they haven't had a peep out of her and she's been
so quiet, she almost forgot she
was there. Irene tells her she's happy to sit back and let her do the entertaining
- she does it so well.
Amanda looks at Irene and Karen and looks uncomfortable.
Later,
Irene is leaving and offers Amanda a lift home. Amanda says she's just going
to take some glasses
into the kitchen first and walks out. Karen congratulates Irene for having
the good sense not to say
anything in front of Todd about their meeting earlier. Irene says she still
might, but Karen tells her that
Todd and her are close, and he won't pay any attention to anyone trying to
run her down. She adds that
she has Todd's father on her side, and he'd be home from America tomorrow
if he knew she was sniffing
around. Irene tells her that Todd will choose himself who he will or won't
see. Todd and Amanda come
back in, and Karen tells Irene it's lovely to meet someone so down to earth
for a change.
Later, Amanda and Irene arrive at the apartment.
Amanda invites Irene in for a drink, and Irene tells her
it wasn't the meal that upset her stomach. Amanda pours her a drink and says
it was obvious to her that it
was Karen. She asks Irene if she isn't judging Karen too quickly, but Irene
says no. Amanda tells Irene
that she didn't want to be a part of the social world - does that mean it's
wrong for everybody else?
Irene says it gets her goat when she thinks of Todd being sucked into it.
Amanda tells her she's jealous
because Karen's more of a mother to him than she is. Irene admits that jealousy
is part of it, but she still
doesn't like the woman. She tells Amanda that, in time, she'll agree with
her and that she hopes Todd
wakes up to what she's really like.
The next day, Barbara is talking to Amanda at the apartment and has told her
about the business crashing.
Amanda asks how things are, money-wise. Barbara tells her she's had to get
a part time job at the golf club.
Amanda asks if Wayne's found a job. Barbara tells her he's a male escort and
she starts laughing. She asks
the name of Wayne's agent. Barbara says it's 'Personality Escorts' and Amanda
laughs again, saying that
Wayne will have to rent a personality along with his tuxedo! She tells Barbara
she's going to make a
booking for Wayne and, when he sees it's her, he'll try to wriggle his way
out of it and she'll get him
sacked. Barbara tells her not to dare. Amanda says why not - it'll be fun
and he deserves it. Barbara
angrily asks her if she hasn't learnt anything. She tells Amanda she knows
Wayne gave her a rough time,
but her childish behaviour has got them into trouble before. Amanda starts
to protest, but Barbara tells
her that, if she can't work out how being petty and silly drags her down to
his level, she's wasting her
breath talking to her. Amanda looks upset.
A short time later, Barbara apologises for sounding
harsh earlier but says she meant every word she said.
Amanda tells her she was right - she was being dumb. Barbara is just about
to leave when there is a knock
on the door. Amanda says it'll probably be Todd - they're having lunch. When
she opens the door, Karen
is there. She tells Amanda that Todd has a virus, so she thought she'd take
his place. Amanda introduces
her to Barbara. Karen offers her hand, but Barbara doesn't take it and tells
her she was just leaving. She
kisses her niece and leaves. Amanda explains that Barbara's family company
has just gone on the rocks, as
she's normally very nice. She explains that Wayne, her creep of an ex-husband,
has had to take a job as
a male escort. Karen asks if theirs was a big business, and Amanda says it
was a group of companies. She
says they still have some valuable holdings in the country, but used to have
their fingers in all sorts of pies.
A short time later, Karen asks if the Hamilton's company was listed on the
Stock Exchange, but Amanda
says she doesn't know. She asks Karen why she's interested, and Karen says
it's amazing how people's
fortunes can turn around. Amanda discovers she has a ladder in her stockings
and asks Karen if she has
time to change them. Karen says of course, and asks what Wayne's agency is
called. Amanda tells her it's
'Personality Escorts' and disappears into the bedroom, saying that if the
customers had any idea of his
real personality they wouldn't have a bar of him. While Amanda is in the bedroom,
Karen phones Wayne's
agency and books a date with him.....
JUDY NUNN
(as Irene Fisher), LYNDEL ROWE (Karen Fox), ALYCE PLATT (Amanda Morrell),
CORNELIA FRANCES (Barbara Hamilton)
Written
by JOHN ALSOP
Directed by PHILIP EAST
Channel
Five broadcast: Saturday 5th April 2003