1x3 - Episode 3

January 17, 2001

Abby finds a chest belonging to the previous owner of the house, the late Annie Macdonald. In it are keepsakes of her fifty-plus years of marriage. Going to ask Helen Kennedy for an address for Annie’s son, Paul, who has moved away from the island, Abby notices that she has been crying. Later, when Abby meets Helen again and sees that she has a split lip, she guesses that her husband, Big Jerry, has beaten her. He has been taking unemployment hard. He is full of anger and is drinking heavily. When Big Jerry hits Little Jerry, it is a blow too far for Helen. She takes her son to stay at Abby’s. Abby tells Helen that she was the victim of an abusive relationship in the past. The islanders are divided in their attitude to Helen and Jerry’s situation. Some of them believe that they should sort out their problems in private and go on as usual, and that Abby is doing no good by interfering. But she has an ally in Douglas. Big Jerry confronts Abby and accuses her of driving Helen away from him. Abby replies that he is the only one who can do that. When Alistair lands a three-month job on a trawler he seizes the opportunity to pass it to Jerry giving his friend and ex-employee a chance to salvage self-respect and possibly his marriage. Helen sees her husband off at the ferry. She says she still loves him, but she wants him back whole.