“Mummy, catch the ball,” Isabelle called and Alison made a dash to retrieve the high-flying ball before it went over the fence.

Paula looked down at her dirty boots and the grime on the knees of her jeans. Then she noticed the lopsided buttons on her shirt. She had put them through the wrong holes. It was one of Dan’s old check shirts. She’d taken to wearing it when she had dirty jobs to do. Even though they’d all been gardening, her mother and sister were in smart casual dress and hardly had a hair out of place.

Her mother put her arm around her. “You look beautiful, darling. You’ve got that special glow of pregnancy.”

“Now I really know you’re losing your marbles or is it just that your eyesight is failing?” Paula chuckled and linked her arm in her mother’s, pleased to see she’d stopped worrying about their safety for the moment.

Paula had enjoyed having her family stay. It was amazing. She had worried about what they’d do to pass the time and now it was only a few more days and they would be gone.

Dan had been very busy but had managed to take Isabelle and Oscar for a couple of laps round the paddock in the tractor when he was working on fire breaks. Paula had taken them all for coffee at Dara’s while Rowena came for lunch one day and Oscar had enjoyed playing with Jane’s oldest boy, Andrew, on a couple of occasions.

The rest of their time had been spent in the backyard. During her previous visit, Paula’s mother had transformed the side garden and now, under her direction and even though the ground was dry and hard, the backyard had been modified into some semblance of order. It was while they were drinking tea and watching the children play that Paula had remembered her makeshift toilet. She glanced in that direction again.

Her mother saw her and frowned. “Surely you won’t need to use that outside contraption again, Paula.”

“Well, you never know.”

“Why don’t you take up Rowena’s offer of her house? I know you love this old place but old houses always need lots of work.”

Paula gritted her teeth. “Rowena shouldn’t have said anything to you…”

“She didn’t. Dan mentioned it the other night.”

“Did he?” Why would he have mentioned it to her mother? They’d not discussed Rowena’s offer since they’d refused it. Paula had forgotten about it but maybe Dan was still entertaining the idea.

“He’s a sensible young man, your Dan.”

“Hmmm.”

“If you’re staying here, the plumbing should be fixed. You’ve got a baby to consider now.”

“It will cost a fortune.”

“Oh, Paula, let me pay for it to be fixed.”