As things get steamy in the storeroom, Henk manages to break away from his lip-lock with Cassie long enough to come clean that it’s all been a mistake – but she’s going to take some convincing. “You’re Brad’s stepdaughter,” Henk says, finally hitting on the perfect passion killer. It’s little wonder, then, that when she’s finally skulked her way back behind the bar, Don Fisher’s attempts to smooth over the day’s events aren’t exactly met with the greatest of concern – nor are her subsequent shifts worked with particular enthusiasm, given that Henk seems to be volunteering an increasing amount of his time to Martha, the self-styled damsel in distress. This is enough to have put Martha herself in an uncharacteristically good mood – by that, we mean only that she actually manages to muster a smile, in place of her more commonly sported grimace, when happy couple Jack and Sam put in an appearance at the Surf Club – and it hasn’t escaped her friends’ attention. “I actually tried to kiss Henk the other day when he moved in, but he rejected me,” she happily admits to Cassie, before confessing her hopes that things have changed. All this, of course, means trouble for Henk, who’s left to deal with not only the fallout of his moment of weakness with Cassie (“This can’t be any more than just one kiss, and even that was way too much,” he tells her) but also the intrusion of Martha’s concerned friends – most notably, Jack. “If you pursue something with her, I hope that it’s for real. She doesn’t need another guy stringing her along,” he says, offering Henk no choice but to confront Martha about an evident case of mixed signals. “Don’t worry; I heard you the first time. I don’t think I’m that irresistible that you’d change your mind,” Martha says coolly. Her next question, however, pretty much gives the game away. “So, what, are you saying you’re celibate?” she queries, thinking it the only possible reason for Henk not having fallen for her charms. One thing’s certain: the answer’s enough to see the fake smile slide from her face.Growing painsThe usually sweet-natured Annie, meanwhile, is beginning to undergo something of a transformation – quite literally. Gone are the polite table manners and the unconditional respect for her brother, even if nobody can quite work out why. Well, nobody but Irene – who, after raising her fair share of troubled teens, can spot a problem a mile off; Annie lying her way out of school with stomach-ache is more than enough to raise her suspicion. “Irene, I think I’m dying,” Annie confides, prompting a discussion no less illuminating to poor Annie than the sex ed lesson an unwitting Belle recently gave her. “It’s your body’s way of telling you that you’re becoming a woman,” Irene begins, having by now realised that a lack of female influence in Annie’s life has left her completely naïve to those dreaded pubescent years. The shock of what’s happening to her, combined with the fact that nobody ever thought to let her in on the wonders of old mother mature, soon sends her running - leaving Tony, Luc and Irene to spend the rest of the day looking for her. Having had no luck, Irene and Geoff regroup at the Holden house, only to have to open the door to Jack – and he’s not there to make a personal call.

“Annie was caught shoplifting,” he says grimly, as she steps forward sheepishly.

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