By the time Paula reached the kitchen, Tom had put the kettle on for her and was waiting by the kitchen table still clutching the papers. He’d taken off his cap and his long curls were plastered to his head. She opened the pantry. “I’ve still got some cake left, I think. Have a seat, Tom.”

Paula chattered away while she made them both a cup of tea. Tom had been working for Dan since he’d left school. Paula had liked him from their first meeting when he’d helped her to repel a mouse invasion and he’d shown himself as an ally when it came to dealing with Rowena.

He was a shy young man and didn’t have a lot to say but usually he would respond to Paula’s questions and sometimes volunteered information of his own. She felt he was comfortable in her company, so she was surprised when he answered in one-syllable replies and kept fiddling with the papers in his hands.

She put the cups of tea on the table. “Is everything okay, Tom?”

“Yeah.”

Paula took a sip of her tea. She waited.

Tom blew on his then put it down again. “Mum’s in Adelaide at my sister’s helping with the baby.”

“How are they getting on?” Paula recalled meeting Tom’s younger sister, Cassie, when she’d just come out of hospital. Both the young mother and the baby had seemed so small and fragile. There’d been a bit of bother with the baby’s father disappearing for a while before the birth but she’d heard they’d sorted things out and settled in the city.

“They’re good. Mum says the baby’s growing like topsy.”

There was silence again, punctuated when they took sips of their tea.

“I wondered…” Tom put down his cup and patted the tops of his legs. “I wondered if you could fill out these forms. Mum usually does all that stuff but…” His voice trailed away.

Paula could see the papers on the table were beginning to look a little worse for wear.

“What are they for?” she asked.

“Dan wants me to do some farming courses with TAFE. These are the forms.”

He handed the papers to Paula. She flicked a quick glance over them. There was nothing filled out and she couldn’t see where there was any request for a witness to a signature.

“This all looks straightforward, Tom. I don’t think I need to fill anything in. It’s all about you.” She glanced up. Tom was fiddling with the handle of his cup, rubbing it with his fingers. If he kept that up it would snap off. His earlier words repeated in her mind, something about his mum usually doing this stuff.