‘I love you’
Marlon tells Jessie those three little words – but fears he’s blown it…
Love is in the air at Tall Trees… or is it? Cupid’s bow has certainly struck Marlon, but when he declares his feelings to Jessie, the head teacher can’t get out of there fast enough.
Marlon gets the idea to open his heart when he and April are decorating the Christmas tree, and his daughter talks about love. He decides to surprise Jessie on her return by spelling out the words ‘I love you’ in fairy lights.
It’s romantic… but it’s also very risky. ‘It’s the same with any relationship,’ says Mark Charnock, who plays Marlon. ‘The moment you tell someone you love them, you’re throwing yourself off the boat and it’s sink or swim. Marlon’s pinning quite a lot on her.’
Jessie makes her excuses to leave, and poor Marlon feels like he’s been kicked in the guts. He adores her – but does she not feel the same way?
As Jessie later explains to the chef during a heart-to-heart, she struggled with his grand gesture because there’s another man looming large in her life – her late husband, Evan.
‘The man to whom she became a widow is still a big deal for her,’ explains Mark. ‘Marlon can definitely relate to that because he has also lost people he loves.’
Keen to move on, Jessie makes the decision to scatter Evan’s ashes.
‘It has to be her that motivates that,’ continues Mark. ‘It needs to come from her. And the only way it will come from her is if Marlon convinces her that he is the guy to move on for.’
Having finally found closure on her marriage, will Jessie make Marlon’s year and tell him what he desperately wants to
hear?