‘Mint will take over an entire area if it’s left to its own devices. The wooden shuttering stops the spread and contains the roots nicely. Are you happy?’

I nod. ‘Yes. It should be fine.’

‘You’re not fine, though, are you?’

I shake my head, miserably.

‘In my former profession, I always found that sharing a problem generally helps. Sometimes a worry is coloured by perspective. Anything we discuss is in confidence, Fern. You can trust me.’

‘It’s not a case of trust, Ceana, it’s more a case of not knowing what’s happening in my life any more,’ I admit, sadly.

She says nothing, and I find myself tugging away at a straggly weed and then another.

‘It’s my husband. His job is very demanding. He works for a charitable organisation and he takes his responsibilities very seriously. Work spills out into what should be relaxing quality time. The stress has taken a toll on him, both mentally and physically, I’m afraid. He’s off travelling, but that isn’t my thing so—’ I grind to a halt.

Ceana scans my face for a moment. ‘So, you decided to take a break and reassess your feelings?’

‘No. We decided, well, he decided we should take a year’s sabbatical from work. The gap year we couldn’t take when we were younger because we both went straight from university to earning money to pay the mortgage. We had a little windfall recently and Aiden thought – oh heck – the truth is that I have no idea why he had this crazy idea to go off and do his own thing. He said we should take some time to explore ourselves. Whatever that means. But he wanted to travel, and I’ve never flown, and I’m no better over water, either. It’s the thought of not being in control of my surroundings which makes me go into panic mode. It restricts the list of destinations we can visit. And now, he’s backpacking in Australia and hooked up with some guys who are going opal mining. Opal mining, for goodness’ sake!’

My voice cranks up a notch out of sheer frustration. It actually feels good to have blurted that out, although I wonder if I’ve shocked Ceana. I don’t want her to feel that I’ve come here for the wrong reasons. The truth is that I’ve always longed to explore the artistic streak that I’ve had to suppress because it felt too indulgent, I suppose. Working, studying to gain my HR qualifications, sorting out the house – there were never enough hours in the day. What was left was taken up with spending quality time with Aiden and my family.

The pile of weeds I’m dumping on a bare patch of soil is growing as I continue to snatch away at them.