She spoke to Glenn and Hazel out on the porch outside the old farmhouse. When she had finished, there was a long silence.

‘I suppose we were thinking of something a little . . .’ Glenn too, struggled to find the word he was looking for.

‘Friendlier?’ said Hazel, folding her arms.

‘I don’t know what you mean,’ Elle said frowning. ‘I thought it was a very fair proposition.’

‘Well if you don’t get it, Elle, then obviously you’ve changed even more than I could have dreamed.’ With that, Hazel stormed back into the house and Glenn followed her, looking concerned.

Slightly perplexed, Elle was left to walk back to the old Cortina and begin the drive back to the Bay Hotel.

Once again, she had completely and utterly failed.

Penny, Ned, Rob and the new guest, Colin, were sitting out in the sun. It had been a hard day’s work, for three of them anyway, and they were enjoying crisps and a bottle of red lemonade. Colin had just wanted to ‘get to know them all’. Surprisingly, he was actually quite funny.

Rob’s dogs were stretched out at his feet, begging for titbits.

‘This really is a charming place,’ said Colin. ‘I hope you’re not going to change it too much.’

‘Not too much,’ Penny told him. ‘Just enough to drag it into the “modern era” as my sister says.’

‘Just as long as it retains its original charm, though,’ said Colin. ‘You don’t see places like this very often any more. My parents have very fond memories of their time here. Of course, they may have just been glad to have been on holiday without me and my sister.’

They all laughed and then heard the sound of the Cortina roaring up the drive.

‘She’s coming fast,’ Ned commented.

‘Hopefully she just can’t wait to tell us all the news,’ said Penny. She hadn’t realised how anxious she was, but her heart was racing and her palms sweating. She was sure that Elle would have great reports of the entire community wanting to help out and get behind them.

When Elle appeared on the lawn, her dad, Penny, Rob and some random stranger looked at her as if she was an alien.

‘Oh, Elle,’ Penny gasped. ‘That suit.’

‘It’s awful,’ Ned agreed. ‘Makes you look a bit mental.’

‘I’m quite aware,’ Elle spat, ‘of how putrid the suit is.’

‘Well,’ Penny queried hopefully, ‘Putrid suit aside, did everything go well?’