Jedda found this hilarious.

‘Hey, I might not want it drinking my milk or depositing little presents on the carpet, but I don’t want its death on my conscience. Anyway, as you’ll see, I’ve nailed a wooden board to the roof this time. The possum will need a hacksaw to get through that, so now every afternoon I cut up fruit and leave it in a bowl on the front porch. I always wake up to an empty bowl.’

‘You’re a real softie, aren’t you, Ashling? But who’s gunna cut up fruit for the little pest when you leave tomorrow?’

I opened my mouth and closed it again. ‘I hadn’t thought about that.’

Jedda cackled and shook her head. ‘Never mind, it survived before you arrived and I’m sure it’ll survive again after you go. Let’s see what you’ve done here.’

I waited until Jedda had pushed the pram into the living room and then closed the sliding door.

‘Is that dead fish I can smell?’ she asked.

‘Dammit.’ I actually stamped a foot. I’d thought after a week of airing out the shack and going through almost a dozen bottles of bleach that the smell was gone, but I must have got used to it.

‘Never mind.’ She held up the wine bottle. ‘Once we’ve had a few of these I’m sure I won’t notice it either. Now where are these mugs?’

We traipsed into the kitchen at exactly the same moment as a pesky cockroach scuttled across the floor.

Jedda watched as it disappeared under the fridge. ‘You must be looking forward to getting home.’

‘Yes, I can’t wait to see my kids—both human and fur variety,’ I said.

But truthfully, I wasn’t as itchy to head back to Perth as I thought I’d be. In the end, once I’d become accustomed to the unfamiliar nocturnal sounds and even the roaches, I’d enjoyed my week in Ragged Point. I was in my element tidying up the shack and I knew I’d miss my morning walks along the beach, my coffee, muffin and morning chat with Jedda. Not to mention the treat of watching the sun set every evening over the ocean. My accommodation may not be flash but its surrounds made up for that tenfold. I hadn’t felt this relaxed in years and now I was energised to return to Perth and work on my marriage. I had an appointment with a therapist on Wednesday and hoped she’d give me some tips on getting through to Adrian.

‘Do you want the grand tour?’ I asked, pushing thoughts of my husband aside.

‘Sure. Why not?’ She scooped Bindi out of the pram and carried her as we went from room to room.

I soon established that Jedda had never actually been inside Xiang’s shack and once I’d shown her the before photos I’d taken for Wei, she was almost gushing in her praise. ‘Do you have a PhD in sterilisation or something?’

‘Don’t be too impressed, I enjoy this kind of stuff. When we got married, my husband and I bought a fairly run-down house and over the years I’ve renovated it almost single-handedly. There’s still a lot that needs to be done if Xiang’s family wants to turn this place into an Airbnb, but it’s a start.’