Rowena’s wedding had gone well in spite of the tension between the family members. The bride and groom had been kept busy, the centre of attention. Paula had been the one to answer any of Joan Talbot’s questions about where things were and whether to bring out the next lot of food.

At first Paula had been surprised to see the large woman in Rowena’s kitchen. Joan had been the one to describe Paula’s cakes as ‘tight’ at the Strawberry Fete but there hadn’t been time to worry about that. Once the guests arrived, Dan had been kept busy filling glasses and Paula had been directing food. She’d also had to keep an eye on Uncle Gerald. He had a fresh drink in his hand every time she saw him and had ended up having a sleep in Rowena’s spare room.

Austin’s brothers had got stuck into the red wine and had told some very entertaining stories about Austin during the speeches. Dan had made a lovely speech about how special Rowena was. It had brought tears to Paula’s eyes. How could he be so caring on one hand and yet lack trust in his wife on the other?

“We’d better get down to Rowena’s and get those chooks.”

Paula was startled back to the present at the sound of his voice.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” he said and pulled her close for a hug.

She hung in his arms, too miserable to respond.

“I’m tired,” she mumbled into his shoulder. “Once we’ve picked up the chooks and emptied Rowena’s fridge I’m going to have a couple of days of doing nothing and I’ll be back to normal.”

“As long as you promise me you will take it easy and not go doing too much while I’m gone.”

“That’s an easy promise to make,” Paula said.

* * *

Dan peered at the screen on his mobile to check he was actually ringing the right number. He’d tried the home phone and Paula’s mobile, a couple of times. Each time his phone had rung until the answering machine cut in or Paula’s message bank took over. He knew she could just be outside but he’d been trying for a while now and he was getting anxious.

Bruce had driven through the night and they’d arrived at the property in the early hours, managing to snatch some sleep before the clearing sale began. Later in the morning, Dan had sent a text message to let Paula know they’d arrived safely and she had sent a reply.

Now that the sale was over and Bruce had finalised his purchases, they faced the long, slow journey home. Dan tucked his phone back into his pocket and went to make sure his load was secure.