Page 85 of A Home Among the Snow Gums
‘By you?’
‘No. By the geriatric dinosaur who calls herself principal of the school Mum and Dad force me to attend. She has no understanding of modern youth.’
‘Is that so?’
‘Yep.’
‘But … I’m still in the dark. What happened?’
Poppy kicked her monster-sized boot into a chair leg. ‘I promised I wouldn’t say.’
‘Well, you are no fun. Hey—are you still ghosting Braydon Fox? I think he’s missing you.’
‘Yeah, Dad said the same. I sense a conspiracy: why are the two of you so invested in how often me and Braydon talk?’
Hmm. Hannah wondered what the vet to guinea pig owner confidentiality requirements were. She pleaded out: ‘I promised I wouldn’t say.’
Poppy stuck out her tongue. ‘Now you’re the one not being fun.’
‘Something which I am about to remedy. I’m going to find champagne.’
‘You can’t have any. I heard Dad tell Vera that you were on call for the rest of the night since this was their party.’
‘Huh. Now I know why you were suspended. You’re a spoilsport and a killjoy, Poppy Cody.’
Her niece giggled. ‘I know how to make you an epic coffee on Graeme’s machine,’ she said winningly.
‘Fine. A latte. But I’m a vet, not a botanist or a romantic, which means I want a swan pattern on it, none of that heart or fern crap.’
Hannah turned to check out who else was there and spied a fat brown lump with a waggy tail disappearing under one of the tables with a sausage roll. Excellent. Hannah loved Vera’s sausage rolls almost as much as Jane Doe did. All she had to do was track down whichever Hanrahan local was handing them around.
And there the local was. Hannah helped herself to an especially tasty-looking sausage roll and dipped it in sauce. ‘Did you know this was planned, Sandy?’
The vet receptionist was almost unrecognisable in her going-out gear. She’d swapped her navy Cody and Cody Vet Clinic polo shirt for a shimmery bronze blouse and she wore heels so high she towered over Hannah.
‘Got the phone call this arvo. Luckily the boys had been invited to a campout in the neighbour’s backyard, so I was free for once. First night out I’ve had in yonks.’
Hannah bumped her half-eaten sausage roll up against Sandy’s champagne glass. ‘Woo hoo! Are we both thinking the same thing about why we’re here?’
‘The bump? The flowy dresses? The daft look on your brother’s face? Oh, yes, I am totally expecting an announcement.’
‘You know, you really are the smartest woman in Hanrahan.’
‘You bet I am.’
A cold breeze made the serviette on the plate Sandy was carrying whiffle up and down as the door opened. Hannah looked over to see who the new arrival was.
Tom.
Pitter-pat, pitter-pat, pitter-patwent her heart before she could shush it.
He’d changed into a collared shirt and a dark jacket, and moleskin jeans so tight they looked like they’d been painted on with a butter knife. His hair was a little mussed, like he’d driven down the mountain with the car windows open. His eyes were pensive, like he’d been wrestling with heavy thoughts.
‘You know,’ said Sandy in her ear, ‘Josh isn’t the only Cody who’s been wandering around the vet clinic with a daft expression on their face lately.’
Hannah stopped gawking at the new arrival. ‘Shut up, Sandy,’ she said weakly. ‘I’m on call, and you know what that means.’
‘No sense of humour? High degree of bitchy commentary? Sorry for all of it the next morning?’
