After he’d carted the rubbish to the bin, he wiped down the mantelpiece with an old rag from the car, scrubbing away sticky dots of possum piss and shrivelled clumps of poo. When it was clean, he set his books on it: field guides and history books, then his favourite fiction, all set in Tasmania: For the Term of His Natural Life, Death of a River Guide, The Roving Party. Somehow the books made the house feel more of a home. They were part of him and their presence made it easier to tackle the rest of the chores. Each time he walked past, he imagined himself reading by the fire on cold nights—it was heartening. But the cleaning wasn’t going so well. The damp rag wasn’t sufficient to shift the dirt, so he traipsed down to the supermarket and bought a bucket and mop, bleach, disposable cloths, a scrubbing brush. Back at the house he began sweeping, mopping, wiping with his new gear. The whole place needed attention. And then there was the algae-stained loo.

His mum rang as he was tossing a bucket of scummy water on the grass. ‘Leon,’ she said, as if they hadn’t spoken in months, ‘how are you? It’s quiet here without you.’

He thought of her standing at the tulle curtains, looking out across the lawn to the street. Yes, it would be quiet back home. Weekdays, she would be busy cleaning cabins at the caravan park. But weekends, she’d be stuck in the house with his pensioned-off dad. Minnie the cat would be curled on the couch or weaving her way around his mum’s legs. In the main bedroom, his dad would be propped up with pillows watching TV: a footy replay, or maybe a golf tournament. Across the road, small waves would be tumbling onto the sand and hissing up the beach. Leon checked his watch—the morning tourist boat would almost be back.

‘Is the house all right?’ his mum asked.

He couldn’t tell the truth or she’d be here tomorrow, trying to fix things, calling a friend to find him some furniture. ‘It’s fine,’ he said. ‘Everything’s great.’

‘Oh, good.’ She sounded relieved. ‘Hope all goes well at work on Monday. And don’t forget to visit Grandpa. I told him you’d drop in, so don’t leave it too long.’