Corrie questions

I'm a bit confused at the mo so I thought someone on here would know. I thought Maria was on maternity leave which was why David got the salon job so why is she doing folks' nails or whatever she was up to. Also where is Amy Barlow/McDonald? Steve was on honeymoon, Liz is in Spain and she's not with the Barlows. Unless she's playing her tapes like Tracy luv did for years whenever Dreary had to explain where her kid was. Have I blinked and missed something?