Geoff - again!

I can’t remember where I read this and of course it may not be true, but apparently, the Geoff story will not reach its conclusion until Christmas. So, hang on to your hats - we have a way to go yet…

I keep reminding myself when we see Geoff doing his usual lying, manipulating and playing Mr Nice Guy that he WILL get his comeuppance at some point – perhaps an extra Christmas gift for all the viewers. He will be outed. Tim will see him as he really is and we will witness Geoff getting his just desserts. But we are not there yet.

There has though, been some progress in the fact that Yasmeen has now realised just how badly his coercion of her affected her, largely because of Alya’s determination to make Yasmeen see. In the meantime, though, Yasmeen has had a heart attack, possibly because of the stress of what Geoff has done to her and ended up in hospital.

'She could have died because of you!’ yells Alya in Speed Dahl, as the pressure of Geoff’s machinations overwhelm her. She completely loses self-control and upends a table while shouting at paying customers to leave.

'All you do is hurt people, Geoff!’ She tells him. ‘And where is Elaine? Disappeared in one of your magic tricks? I’d de doing a lot of people a favour if I stabbed you with this bottle right now!’ Tim gently persuades Alya to put the bottle down, but it’s clear that Tim is shocked at the degree of Alya’s anguish.

Alya now launches her tirade onto Tim, quite reasonably asking him why he doesn’t open his eyes and see his dad as he really is?  Ryan arrives and is immediately certain that Alya has been provoked by Geoff. Alya accepts the blame for the mess she’s made but Ryan knows that Geoff is behind it. Ryan, on being told by Tim that Geoff is telling the truth as to what happened, says that Geoff, ‘is telling his version of the truth.’ He turns to Tim and tells him to open his eyes and see what Geoff is really like.

Tim has heard all this before from several people so he might, just might, start to suspect that there is something in what people are saying about his dad.

‘Why don’t you open your eyes, mate and see what he’s really like?’ Ryan tells him what Geoff has done. Geoff, knowing full well that neither Alya nor Yasmeen wanted alcohol in their restaurant, has ordered alcohol and got a licence to sell it without mentioning a word of this to Alya. Geoff of course, claims he’s only doing it to improve the business, but we know that’s a lie.

When Alya and Ryan have left, Tim seems less than warm towards his dad. When Geoff refers to Alya’s ‘hissy fit’ Tim is defensive towards Alya and points out that it was much more than a hissy fit that Alya was experiencing. Geoff suggests that he and Tim have a drink together but Tim walks off, not keen to be in his dad’s company. Before he leaves though, he asks his dad why Alya gets so upset, what did Ryan mean and also what is Alya implying about Elaine? Is Tim finally starting to realise?

We might have thought so, but on returning home, he is once more putting up a stout defence of his father to Sally. The ripples from Geoff’s behaviour are badly affecting Sally and Tim’s marriage and in addition Faye is talking to her dad about her granddad’s behaviour and naturally enough, is asking Tim to talk to his dad, because Faye doesn’t want to see her father and grandfather fall out. On arrival home, Tim is once more locked in battle with Sally. She is sympathetic at first.

‘I hate seeing you like this,’ she says to Tim. Sally then learns of the CCTV camera Geoff had installed, that he didn’t want people to know about. Sally immediately concludes, rightly, that he didn’t want people to know because people would think he’s manipulative and creepy.

‘He had it installed as a security measure – you make him seem like some twisted control freak!’ says Tim.

‘You either can’t see or won’t see what is right in front of you! Alya, Ryan, Cathy, Elaine! I think he’s a nasty bully and a liar!’ yells Sally.

Tim ends the argument – for now- by saying, He’s my dad! He brought me up and fed me! What do you expect me to do? Cut him out of my life? Well I’m not going to do that! Not for you or anybody!’

This whole situation is so difficult for Tim. In time, he’ll realise of course, the truth about his father; but no one, no matter how old they are, wants to admit that their parent is a controlling, manipulative, lying, cheating bully.

By Ruth Owen

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