back around the lawn. She looked as panicked as I felt and was panting heavily. Graham happened to be ferrying the last of the things to the green when he spotted me trying to calm her, and kindly offered to lock the sheds and pop the keys through my letterbox.
I didn’t tell him what had caused Nell’s sudden sprint, because I didn’t think I could explain without sounding irate and the last thing I wanted to infer was that having only just laid eyes on Finn, I already disliked him, even though I did.
A little later Lisa kindly dropped around some food and after that I heard the Guy Fawkes party in full swing on the green. I was thankful that there weren’t too many bangs and cracks nearby, otherwise my poor companion would have slipped into a further decline. She barely touched her tea and her sleep was fitful that night, the slightest movement by me in the bed, instantly rousing her.
The next morning, and for the first time ever, she refused to budge from her basket and I spent the day working alone in the garden and quietly seething. There was no one at the studio, no one who could be stirred by my early morning hammering on the door anyway. Given the strength of my annoyance, that was perhaps for the best.
After work, I checked the cuttings I had liberated from Broad-Meadows and took a reluctant Nell for a brief wander around the green. She was still wary, but thankfully calmer after her peaceful day at home. I spoke to her gently as she sat on the threshold of the bathroom while I soaked to prune-like proportions in the tub ahead of supper with Kate and Luke.
I had just pulled on my dressing gown when my phone started to vibrate on the nightstand.
‘Peter,’ I smiled, when his face appeared on the screen. ‘You’re up early.’
It must have been about five in the morning in New Zealand.
‘Big work day,’ he smiled back, ‘and I wanted to get a run in early.’
‘I don’t know where you get your energy from,’ I told him, stifling a yawn.
‘The more exercise I get, the better I feel,’ he laughed. ‘You should try it.’
‘Hey!’ I retaliated, ‘I get exercise all day thanks to my job, and so would you if you got your hands dirty on a project once in a while.’
‘So, how’s the job going?’ he asked. ‘You’ve been on my mind this week. I know you said you’d call when you were settled, but I couldn’t wait any longer. Is everything all right?’
I wondered how Mum would interpret his kind enquiry as I filled him in on how things were panning out and finished up with the details of what had happened when I went to introduce myself to Finn.
‘He sounds like quite a character.’
‘That’s not quite how I’d put it,’ I frowned, picturing the supersized god in human form barrelling down his staircase.
‘Well,’ Peter pointed out, ‘as you’re practically living in each other’s pockets and going to be working together, you’re going to have to find a way to get along, aren’t you?’
I refused to admit that he was right.
‘I’m sorry, Peter,’ I said, noticing the time, ‘but I have to go. I’m having supper with my bosses tonight.’
‘No doubt you’ll be talking shop all evening.’
‘No doubt.’
‘I better get going too.’
‘I hope your big work day goes well.’
‘Thanks,’ he said, as he leant towards the screen to cut the call off.
‘Oh, and Peter,’ I quickly added, before he was gone.
‘Yeah?’
‘Thanks for calling.’
‘No worries, mate,’ he said, in the worst attempt at a New Zealand accent I’d ever heard.
‘Still not nailed the lingo then,’ I laughed, as he shook his head. ‘And isn’t that an Aussie phrase?’
He stuck his tongue out and signed off.
As I was running a little late, I gave my hair a quick blast with the dryer and left it loose before picking out one of my fancier, by which I mean, not workwear, tops and teamed it with a clean pair of jeans before heading off, leaving Nell looking decidedly put out, which suggested she was definitely beginning to feel better.
‘Wow,’ said Kate, when she opened the door to let me in. ‘You look amazing. My goodness, Freya, your hair is long, isn’t it?’
‘Too long,’ I told her, quickly offering the wine I had carried over in an attempt to brush over her compliment. ‘I didn’t know what we’d be eating so I thought I’d bring one