‘Dr Cody, you’re being a good sport about this.’
He felt Jane settle herself over his boots. ‘Call me Josh,’ he said. ‘To tell you the truth, Sonya, I’m in no hurry to say goodbye to them just yet.’ Understatement of the year. With Poppy away at school, Vera pretending he didn’t exist, Jane being taken from him too would be too damn much.
Sonya nodded. ‘You ever need some fresh honey, you drop on by the Cooma markets one Saturday. My stall’s always there, and there’ll be a jar waiting for you, okay? We’ll see you in a few weeks.’
He shook the calloused little hand she held out to him. ‘See you soon.’
He wandered back to the clinic after saying goodbye to Parker and his mum, and as he cut through the park, his gaze was drawn to the pretty picture windows of The Billy Button Café. He paused when he saw Graeme coming out of the doors and crossed over to greet him.
The printed sign that had been there all week like a punishment was still taped to the glass.Closed due to family bereavement. Vera had made her point very clear: family didn’t include him.
‘You’ve got a frown on your face that explains how Old Regret got its name,’ said Graeme.
‘My shitty week just got shittier.’
‘Yeah? Vera rang you, did she?’
He narrowed his eyes. ‘No. A kid arrived and turns out he’s Jane Doe’s owner. Why, was Vera trying to call me? Did she say something to you?’ He’d not missed a message, had he? Maybe she rang the clinic. Maybe Sandy had lost the sticky note. Maybe—
‘She bit my head off when I told her you’d dropped by the café to see her the other day, that’s all. I figured there was trouble brewing.’
‘It’s brewing all right. You know, she’s not said a word to me about her aunt. The only reason I know about Jill passing away is because Marigold rang me to see how soon the hall would be ready.’ Not Vera. Vera had just slipped away mid phone call a few hours after they’d spent the night together, and left him wondering where on earth she’d gone.
‘Funeral’s day after tomorrow,’ said Graeme.
‘Yeah. It’s going to be touch and go whether I get the ceiling finished in time. I’ve done a little fancy plasterwork in my day, which is lucky, because there was quite a lot of damage.’
‘Bog and paint, mate.’
He snorted. ‘Any more of that cheek from you, Graeme, and I’ll be handing you a paintbrush.’
‘So hand me one.’
‘Seriously? You’d give me a hand?’
‘Of course. When are you planning on painting?’
‘I’ll finish the cornice work tonight if I get stuck into it after dinner, give it the day to dry, and we paint tomorrow evening. You up for that?’
‘With two of us on the job, we’ll get it done in no time.’
‘Thanks, man. I mean it.’ That was one problem solved. If only he knew what to do about the others. He hesitated. ‘Does Vera seem okay to you? I thought we’d reached a point where she trusted me a little, but she’s not answering my calls. I’ve been to her apartment, and no answer there, either. I’m worried about her. I don’t think she’s as resilient as she pretends to be.’
Graeme looked him over. ‘Josh, my friend, girl trouble is not my special skill, but if you need a beer and an ear, I’m your man.’
Josh considered. ‘That new place round the corner serve double cheese and pepperoni?’
‘The Feldmark Cellar servepizza?’ Graeme gave a deep and theatrical sigh. ‘Some days, I wonder how we ever became friends. We’ll go to the winery, and we’ll have a cheese platter, with some quince paste, grapes, bruschetta. Maybe some of their olives stuffed with goodness and deep fried in a crumb so thin and crispy you’ll forget pepperoni ever existed.’
‘Lead the way.’ Beer, heart-to-heart, then plasterwork. Yeah, single life in the country was turning out to be pretty much as he’d expected.
The olives were great. As was the platter of fruit and cheese the waitress conjured up after a lengthy and spirited discussion on the merits of every item on the menu with Graeme. He layered a wedge of double brie onto an oat cracker and gave it a try.
‘Okay,’ said Graeme. ‘Now you have a beer in front of you, you want to tell me why you’ve got a hangdog look on your face?’
Josh sighed. ‘You picked it before. Girl trouble.’
‘With my boss.’