13/03/2022

Roy’s already missing Phoebe. The goldfish she gave him isn’t much of a substitute. Kirsty tries to cheer him up as they good humouredly banter about Kate the fish. As they chat about the rewilding, Kirsty spots Kate has escaped. They find her on the floor, but Roy can’t face scooping her up. It’s left to Kirsty to return Kate quickly to the water, where she recovers. Relieved Roy pledges to take the fish to the vet – but he’ll need to make sure Jakob doesn’t see them, or the real Kate will know something’s up. Alice takes Jim some birthday cake, and a bookmark made by Martha. He’s touched. Alice is keen to make amends for her past actions. She asks Jim if there might be some shifts she could do at the shop. Jim agrees it would be a service to the village, but Alice will need to ask Susan. Jim hopes Alice’s quest will eventually allow her to forgive herself. As he holds Martha, he praises Alice’s ‘mother’s instinct’, commenting that his wife possessed a good one. He feels experiences in his life meant he was ill equipped to carry this on with his children. He’s troubled that Alice might be hanging on to the idea that she must make up for something. She’s clearly doing a good job as a mother, and she shouldn’t sell herself short. He himself realised too late that we never get a second chance to be the best parent we can be.