‘Women drive trains these days, and fly jets, Mum. I imagine a Cessna would be a piece of cake. How’s Dad?’ Tilly asked dutifully.

‘Oh, much the same, love. He created a bit about going into care – I think the room being different upset him.’ She took her suitcase that the silent pilot pulled from the rear door, along with the mailbag, which he exchanged for the one Tilly held.

‘Thanks, Mike. See you. Come on, Mum.’ Tilly grabbed the case and shepherded Elaine towards the vehicle. ‘Hop in. No, leave the window up. There’ll be clouds of dust when he starts moving.’ She slammed her own door and sat waiting for the plane to taxi away, then begin its take-off run. ‘We have to see him off the ground,’ she explained, starting the engine as the Cessna flew off. ‘We’re not far from the homestead. I’ve been really looking forward to this. How long can you stay?’

‘Ten days including travel – one to come and one to go – so that’s eight here. I wanted to leave on a weekend, but they told me the little plane only flies on Wednesdays. Why’s that?’

‘It’s mail day, Mum.’

‘What – only once a week?’

Tilly looked affectionately at her mother’s indignant expression and nodded. ‘Yep, this is the back of beyond. The tourists all say that too – well, the ones from Sydney and Melbourne, anyway.’

‘It doesn’t seem right! Why, I remember when the postie came twice a day.’

‘And I’ll bet there’re a few old timers up here who remember when they got their mail once a month,’ Tilly said. ‘You get used to it. Mail days are a treat – that’s the way to look at it. Same as anything – scarcity adds value.’

‘It wouldn’t suit me.’ Elaine gave her daughter a searching look. ‘But something obviously agrees with you. You look so much better than when I last saw you. Happier too. I’m glad, love.’

‘It’s been two years, Mum,’ Tilly responded as she turned off the road and slowed before the homestead. ‘A lot of water’s gone down the river since then. New home, new life, new job. Well, here we are. Sophie’s home today, so we’ll have a cuppa and catch up, and you can settle in at your leisure. You’ve got eight days to do exactly as you please, and I’m going to see that you do. God knows you’ve earned a break.’

Elaine smiled at her daughter. ‘Take Two and cocoa after dinner?’

‘If that’s what you want,’ she replied, nodding at the figure that had emerged onto the verandah. ‘There’s Sophie waiting for us now.’

Chapter Twenty-six

Luke’s first question as he stepped through the door that evening was whether the photographs had come on the mail.