My first update: I’m here and I’m fine. I’ve hooked up with a couple of guys who are going opal mining. I’m going to check it out for a few days but might not be able to get a signal. Enjoy your drawing lessons. Will be in touch when I can. Miss you, babe. Love you.

I stare at the words, disappointment flooding through me. Opal mining? That’s how Aiden is going to work through whatever his problem is? Has he lost his mind? The only thing I know about opal mining in Australia is that it can be dangerous.

I’m torn between feeling anxious and angry that the man I love is capable of making such a stupid decision. And he’s with strangers. Anything could happen and how would I know if he was in trouble?

Aiden is trying to make sense of his life, a life he felt has become mundane, and I just let him go. I should have talked him out of it instead, knowing he’s been under a lot of stress and pressure. Stress doesn’t simply throw the body out of kilter, but the mind, too. No wonder my senses are jangling like wind chimes in a heavy storm.

6

Acceptance

While everyone is eating, Ceana shows me where the gardening tools are kept, in preparation for the group’s first session of the week. We wander down through the orchard and beyond, where I get my first real glimpse of what looks like a very commercial market garden. Row after row of vegetables cover an extensive area, making it look rather daunting, if I’m honest.

‘I had no idea it was going to be on this scale. Where will I start?’

She laughs. ‘Don’t worry, you’ll be working on the herb garden. Follow me. It’s over here.’

As we head off towards a small collection of wooden sheds, I can’t shake off the gloom I’ve felt since reading Aiden’s text. How can I throw myself into this when my heart and head are somewhere else?

Ceana turns to look at me, seeing my frown. ‘It’s not as bad as it looks, you know. The beds are raised, and you simply start at one end and work your way across with the hoe. It’s a laborious job but satisfying. We keep the tools in here and that’s pretty much all you will need today, anyway. Just make sure the ladies are clear about what’s a weed and what’s a plant. I’ll run you through the various varieties.’

It’s a good job she does because there are a couple of things that look too straggly to be useful, but Ceana explains that herbs don’t grow neatly like many other plants. Some like to grow in clumps, while others re-root themselves as they spread and that’s why they are planted in raised borders.