Her troubled thoughts were disturbed by the slam of the screen door and the appearance of her brother and son. Danny was carrying a screeching Coco in his cage, which he deposited on the already cluttered kitchen table. Terence would have to be told about Sandra, but it would have to wait until Danny was out of the room.

‘G’day,’ squawked Coco as he bobbed up and down on his perch and regarded them with a beady eye. ‘Pretty boy. Ups-a-daisy.’

‘The animals are all fed and locked in for the night,’ said Terence through a vast yawn. ‘Wally the wombat seems to have gone into hibernation under the back veranda, but Coco was kicking up such a racket we thought it best to bring him here out of the weather.

‘Well, you can get the cage off the table for a start,’ she said briskly. ‘Lord knows how many germs he’s spreading about.’

‘Aw, Mum. He’ll be right. Just needs a bit of company.’

Becky lifted the cage and put it on the floor. She was tired, hungry, in need of a bath and in no mood to argue. ‘I see you’ve both had your tea,’ she said, waving towards the pile of dirty dishes. ‘Is there anything left in the larder?’

‘Sorry, sis,’ said Terence as he shed his coat and dumped it over the back of a chair. ‘I meant to clean up after Dan and I sorted the animals out, but it took longer than we expected.’ He opened the larder and peered inside. ‘There’re tins of corned beef and some onions and spuds. Want me to make you a hash? It’s my speciality.’ His smile was rueful as he looked back at her.

She took pity on him and shook her head. ‘I’ll make egg on toast after I’ve had a bath,’ she replied. ‘But don’t forget you’ve got to relieve Mum. She’s been on the go all day and needs some sleep.’

‘I’ll clean this lot up and get over there. No worries.’ He gave a deep sigh. ‘And here’s me thinking I’d have a quiet, easy life as a country doctor. Is it always like this?’

She smiled back at him. ‘Thankfully, no. But it’s never easy, Terry, even on the quiet days – which is why Dad is so delighted you came home.’

Coco broke the solemn moment by going into his clown routine and misjudging the distance between perch and claw.

Despite her weariness, Becky giggled as the ridiculous bird landed on his back in his water bowl with a cry of outrage and a flurry of feathers. ‘You’d better put the covers over him, Danny, or he’ll have us up all night,’ she said.