Dan’s phone rang as he pulled the Audi into the garage. Paula glanced at her watch. It was ten o’clock. She was eager to have something to eat then crawl into bed.

“What’s up, Tom?” Dan said.

She could hear the murmur of Tom’s voice as she walked ahead of Dan to the house.

“Damn it. Have you tried changing the…”

Tom’s reply cut him off. Obviously something wasn’t working. Paula sighed. There hardly seemed to be a day go by when something didn’t fall off or break down or need some kind of attention.

“Well. It could be, I suppose,” Dan said.

She heard the frustration in his voice and saw the tiredness in his eyes as he stood just inside the back door. Even though it was late they needed to eat. She left him talking and went into the kitchen.

She’d just finished preparing some food when he walked in behind her.

“I’m going out to Harvey’s place,” he said. “Tom’s had a breakdown. He’s tried to fix it but no luck. I’ve told him to go home but I might be able to do something and I may as well get the truck out there. I’ll eat later.”

Paula held out his food container, packed with freshly made rolls and a banana. “Eat this on the way,” she said.

“Thanks.” He bent to give her a kiss on the cheek. “I don’t know how long I’ll be. You go to bed. You need some rest.”

She pushed her face into a smile. And so do you, she thought but kept it to herself. She would be wasting her breath to say it.

“Can you feed the dogs?” Dan called from the door.

“Okay,” she called back. Her eyes strayed to the roll she had made for herself and saliva spurted into her mouth. With a weary sigh, she went to feed the animals.

Outside their excited barks were soon replaced with the sound of eating. It had been a warm day and the night air had cooled very little. She didn’t need anything on her arms other than the short sleeves she was wearing. Periodic puffs of wind from the north weren’t lowering the temperature much. She paused a moment to listen; the only other sounds were the fading rumble of the truck in the distance and the soft rustle of leaves in the trees. She still marvelled at the silence. In Sydney there was always noise.

Back inside she went in search of her mobile phone. In their hurry to get to the Watson’s she’d left her phone behind on the charger.

She flicked the light switch in the office and crossed to the desk to retrieve the phone. A quick glance showed missed calls and messages.