The Kookaburra Creek Café Read online

  ‘Of course.’ Alice smiled. ‘Well, I’m glad you’re back. That sorry excuse for bread from the Glensdale bakery will not be missed now you’ve returned, I can assure you.’

  ‘Yeah, you lot only want me for my bread.’

  Alice nodded. ‘And your picnics.’

  ‘That’d be right.’

  ‘The truth is sometimes hard to hear, my friend.’ She shrugged. ‘It is good to have you back, though.’

  ‘I got you something,’ he said, pulling out a small parcel from the bag Alice only now noticed he was carrying. He handed her the gift. ‘I thought maybe, if you wanted to, if you don’t like them, it’s okay. Anyway . . .’ He shrugged.

  Alice suppressed a smile and undid the red ribbon. Inside were two Leaning Towers of Pisa. One for salt, one for pepper.

  ‘They’re so cute. Thank you.’ She leaned over and hugged him. ‘That’s really sweet of you.’ She looked into his eyes and couldn’t turn away.

  ‘If you don’t want to use them, I’ll understand. I just thought with all the colour you’ve been putting into the place, maybe they’d fit in.’

  ‘They’re gorgeous. I’ll use them, for sure.’

  For the first time since she’d met Joey, the silence between them felt awkward. Their little picnic didn’t feel quite so innocent anymore.

  ‘Jo-jo, come back. Playtime.’ Tammy came up and tugged his arm.

  ‘I got you something, too.’ Joey handed her a small gift.

  Tammy tore open the wrapping paper. Inside was an elastic rainbow headband stitched with metallic thread that caught the sunlight. Joey helped her put it in her hair and she ran back to her dandelions.

  ‘You are so good with her. How do you do it?’ Alice touched his shoulder.

  ‘It’s easy. She’s easy.’ He sighed. ‘I always figured I’d be a dad someday.’

  ‘Jo-jo, come,’ Tammy called.

  ‘Never keep a princess waiting.’ He smiled and Alice had to turn away, her cheeks burning with colour.

  With three dandelions in her hand, Tammy ran to Alice, followed by Joey, who only needed a few long strides to keep up.

  ‘Mummy make a wish.’ She handed Alice the longest stem. ‘Jo-jo make a wish. Me make a wish.’

  All three faced the creek and blew on their dandelions together, tiny white seeds floating on the wind across the water.

  ‘I wished for a rainbow unicorn.’ Tammy smiled. ‘Jo-jo? What you wish for?’

  ‘If I tell you it won’t come true.’ He glanced at Alice and she couldn’t hold his gaze.

  ‘But . . .’ Tammy’s happy face clouded over.

  ‘Oh, no. That’s only for grown-ups.’ Joey knelt down beside her. ‘Kids are allowed to tell their wishes.’

  Tammy accepted Joey’s explanation and went back to her dandelions as Alice and Joey started setting up the picnic.

  ‘Mummy, Mummy, Mummy, can we keep him?’ Tammy called.

  Beside her sat a frightened little puppy. It was looking at Tammy, who was holding a piece of her bread out for him.

  Alice stepped lightly towards them and the dog inched backwards. ‘He might already belong to someone, sweetie.’

  The black-and-white patched puppy looked clean, but Alice wasn’t sure she liked it being so close to her little girl.

  ‘Please, Mummy.’ Tammy clasped her hands in front of her chest.

  Alice looked around, but there was no one else nearby. The dog wasn’t wearing a collar, either. ‘I don’t know, sweetie.’

  The dog put its head on its front paws and crawled forward on its belly.

  ‘I’ll call the vet in Glensdale later and ask if anyone’s reported a missing pup. He seems pretty tame,’ said Joey. He poured some water into a bowl from the picnic basket and placed it on the ground in front of the dog. It drank eagerly.

  ‘I suppose we can look after it till then.’ Alice nodded.

  The puppy didn’t leave Tammy’s side for the rest of the afternoon. When she stood, it did. When she rolled in the grass, it did.

  ‘What should we call him, Mummy?’ Tammy skipped over as Alice and Joey packed up the picnic.

  ‘He’s not ours to name,’ Alice smiled.

  ‘But we have to call him something, Mummy.’

  ‘She’s right.’ Joey knelt down and patted the dog. ‘For now, why don’t we call him Shadow?’

  Despite the late-summer sun slipping towards the horizon, the searing heat had lost none of its bite. Tammy skipped around Alice and Joey as they walked back to the café, Shadow ducking in and out between her legs, licking her hand every chance he could. To give Tammy and her new friend more room for their circle, Alice and Joey closed the gap between them and Alice felt Joey’s hand brush hers. She was surprised at the tingle she felt at the base of her spine, the red rising in her cheeks.

  ‘La la la-la la la,’ Tammy sang as she skipped with flapping arms. ‘Smurf the whole day long.’

  As they reached the steps of the café, Tammy threw herself into Joey’s arms.

  ‘I love you, Jo-jo,’ she said, kissing his cheek three times.

  ‘And I love you. Though if you don’t stop growing, I won’t be able to pick you up much longer.’ Tammy patted Joey on the cheek and bounced up the stairs, Shadow following close behind.

  ‘Thank you for today,’ Joey said, his voice just above a whisper. ‘I always hate leaving my family, but spending time with you guys helps.’

  ‘Well, we’re always happy to have you home,’ Alice smiled.

  Joey took her hand and held it to his lips.

  ‘Bath, Mummy, bath.’ Tammy jumped back down to the grass and Joey dropped Alice’s hand.

  ‘I’d better get her in.’

  ‘I’ll let you know what the vet says.’ Joey nodded. ‘Night, princess.’ He bent down and kissed Tammy. He stepped forward, then back again. ‘Night, bella.’ He kissed Alice quickly on the cheek.

  Three renditions of ‘Hushabye Mountain’ were needed to settle Tammy for the night. She’d cried when Alice said Shadow had to sleep outside, but had settled down once Alice agreed that Tammy could make Shadow a bed on one of the deckchairs using her favourite blanket.

  Alice kissed her daughter on the forehead, her nose and her chin and said goodnight.

  ‘Night, night, Mummy.’

  ‘Love you to the moon.’

  ‘And back.’

  Alice leaned against the doorframe and watched Tammy until the rise and fall of her chest fell into its usual rhythm.

  In her own bed Alice lay against her pillows and thought about her dandelion wish. She’d asked for some clarity with Joey, but this was no closer to coming true after the day they’d just spent together. She couldn’t deny she liked him. But she didn’t know how she felt about being with another person again. She’d locked the memory of Dean away in the hidden part of her heart she didn’t dare open, but he was still there. And what would it mean to allow someone in again? Look at what had happened with Dean, with her mum and dad. It only led to pain.

  Her eyes felt heavy. At least there was no pain with Tammy. Tiredness, yes. Frustration, certainly. But no pain. With Joey, there was confusion. A past not yet resolved. A future that couldn’t quite begin. Her tumbling thoughts started to give her a headache. She closed her eyes and dandelion seeds caught on a summer breeze danced through her mind.

  Kookaburra Creek, 2018

  he cast of the Kookaburra Creek Amateur Dramatic Society sat on the deck of the café as Freddy and Becca brought out coffees and plates of bacon and eggs.

  It was hours before the opening night of the show, and Hattie had decided they all needed a hearty breakfast in preparation. Alice couldn’t eat, though. She wrapped her hands around her teacup, but it never made it to her lips. She was too nervous about the show. She was too worried about Becca. She watched her closely. As long as she was near Freddy she seemed relaxed, but as soon as he left her side she started playing with her fringe and her eyes would dart round the room.

  The n
ightmares were getting worse. Alice stayed with her all night, but it didn’t seem to help. She was exhausted. How was she was going to get through tonight’s performance? Maybe she could steal a nap this afternoon, if Freddy could stick round. She’d only have to ask.

  ‘Good idea, Fiona,’ Betty said, cutting across the chatter. ‘What do you say, Alice? We all come back here and toast our amazing success after the show?’

  ‘Sure,’ Alice answered.

  ‘That settles it, then.’ Fiona put her hand on Joey’s arm. ‘A post-performance party at the café. Now I think I might head home. Big night tonight.’ She rose, pushing down on Joey’s shoulders. ‘Walk me home?’

  Oh shoot me now, thought Alice.

  ‘Girl has a point.’ Clive got up and stepped off the deck, mounting his bicycle. And everyone except Freddy followed.

  ‘See you all tonight.’ Alice waved, her cheeks feeling decidedly warmer than they should have as she watched the group walk away, Joey walking beside Fiona.

  ‘Carson?’ She grabbed the sergeant’s arm before he left.

  ‘What’s up, Alice?’

  ‘Actually, I don’t know. I wonder . . .’ She thought about how to raise the issue without actually raising it. ‘Do you think . . .’

  ‘Out with it, love.’ He smiled.

  ‘Can you just keep your eye out for any green utes. Other than your own.’ She laughed, hoping it would cover her nerves.

  ‘I can. Why?’

  ‘It’s probably nothing.’ She shook her head.

  ‘In my experience, Alice, when someone says it’s nothing, it’s usually something.’

  Alice shrugged.

  ‘Okay,’ Carson sighed. ‘I’ll be on the lookout. But the second your nothing becomes a something, you tell me.’

  ‘Thank you. And I was wondering if I could have the number of your cousin, Andrew?’

  ‘Andrew? The locksmith?’

  Alice nodded.

  ‘Do we need to have a proper chat?’ he asked in a serious tone, squaring his shoulders and looking down at Alice. He could be really intimidating when he wanted to be.

  She shook her head. ‘I’m sure it’s nothing.’

  Carson scribbled the number down and handed it to her before giving her a look that made her feel like she was a teenager who’d been caught drinking. She should have known she couldn’t fool Carson. He had good instincts. But the truth would have sounded ridiculous.

  ‘Thank you,’ said Alice, and she walked Carson down the stairs of the deck.

  Magic was not something Alice believed in. But she did believe that sometimes in life things happened without any explanation. That sometimes things were connected in inexplicable ways.

  She knew it was purely coincidence that a frightened girl happened to turn up in her café, yet that girl had Dean McRae’s eyes. She knew that Sylvia was just an old photo, yet that old photo had spoken to her so many times over the years, and always knew exactly what to tell her. She knew that Becca’s dreams were just dreams, yet she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to it than that. One thing she was absolutely certain of was that she wasn’t willing to take any chances.

  She turned and watched Freddy and Becca set up the dining room for lunch. It would be a slow day. Everyone was going to be getting ready for the show. Even those just coming to watch had hair appointments and manicures in Glensdale organised. And everyone knew the café was closing early. Maybe she could have a rest. Just a little one.

  ‘Alice, petal, walk me home.’ Hattie came up beside her.

  So much for her rest.

  They walked slowly along the creek till they got to the bridge.

  ‘I need to pause a moment.’ Hattie lowered herself down onto the bench.

  Alice sat next to her.

  ‘Becca and young Freddy are getting on well.’

  ‘It’s good for her to have someone her own age to talk to. I’m sure she thinks I’m a hundred years old sometimes.’

  ‘Remind you of someone?’ Hattie asked.

  ‘I never once thought that of you,’ Alice replied. ‘I wasn’t game enough to.’

  ‘Rightly so.’ Hattie nodded, a hint of a smile showing at the corners of her mouth, the edges of her faded grey eyes crinkling. ‘You’ve come a long way since those days. A long way.’

  Alice sat in silence. Most of the time she felt she hadn’t come any way at all in the time she’d been at Kookaburra Creek. She’d never meant to stay here. It had sort of just happened. Yet now she so desperately didn’t want to leave.

  ‘Thanks to you,’ Alice said. ‘If it weren’t for you, who knows what might have become of me.’ She shrugged her shoulders.

  ‘True.’ Hattie nodded. ‘So really, you’d be a fool not to take my advice.’

  Alice smiled. ‘And what advice would that be?’

  ‘To sort this malarkey out with Joey once and for all.’

  ‘Hattie, please.’

  ‘I’m not finished. Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s dangerous to interrupt a woman my age? I could drop dead mid-sentence. Now, I don’t know what this thing is with Fiona Harris and, frankly, I don’t care. But they are spending an awful lot of time together and it’s making me nervous. Regardless of what happens with the café, which we are going to save, by the way, the question you really need to be asking yourself is, do you want to lose Joey on top of everything else?’

  ‘It’s too late,’ said Alice.

  ‘Codswallop. You lost love once, and Lord knows I understand how that hurts. But you have a second chance. We don’t all get that. You want to think twice before you go throwing it away.’

  No words came out of Alice’s mouth.

  ‘Good. No more nonsense. I’ll manage the rest of the way on my own. Now make me proud tonight.’

  She let Alice’s hands go, pushing the purple stripe in her hair behind her ear as she stood up. She bent down with a flourish of her right arm and when she came back up again she held a dandelion seed head in her hand. Without another word she handed it to Alice and turned on her heel and sashayed away, as best she could, given she was relying on the walking stick, leaving Alice alone with her thoughts.

  Backstage the atmosphere was buzzing. Hattie looked radiant, her hair set in a perfectly turned-under bob with a lemon-yellow hairpiece clipped into the left side. She moved from person to person, reassuring them they were in fact ready and she had no doubt they’d do her proud. Whether Hattie actually believed that or not, Alice couldn’t tell. But she was convincing and that was all that mattered really. When she got to Alice they exchanged a smile and squeezed each other’s hands.

  From her vantage point behind the stage curtain Alice watched Betty escort Mr Sinclair to his chair, front and centre. As the skinny reporter took his seat, his face pinched in a look that suggested he wasn’t expecting much from the night, Betty caught Alice’s eye and gave her a thumbs up. Alice had never seen Betty do that before. She didn’t recognise the man sitting on the other side of Betty, but then there were a lot of people in the audience she didn’t recognise. It seemed the drawcard of the legendary Harriett Brookes’ return had worked and the hall was packed.

  ‘All right, petals.’ Hattie gathered the cast. ‘Mr Sinclair has an uninterrupted view, so let’s give it all we’ve got.’

  ‘We’ve put in the work,’ Joey chimed in. ‘We’re ready. Let’s make everyone proud.’

  He put his hands into the middle of the circle of Kookaburra Creek Amateur Dramatic Society misfits and everyone followed. ‘Let’s do this!’

  A cheer went up, just as the overture started and the main lights in the hall dimmed.

  Alice’s hands began to shake.

  ‘You’ll be great,’ Joey whispered in her ear as they took their places.

  The curtain fell for interval. Apart from Mrs Harris missing a cue because she was too busy poking her head through the gap in the backstage partition to see the audience reaction, everything had gone smoothly. Well, that and the fact the sta
irs didn’t turn all the way round like they were supposed to, but no one seemed to notice that. At least that’s what Joey told everyone as they changed costumes.

  ‘It’s going great,’ Becca told Alice. She and Freddy had made their way backstage during the break.

  ‘Can you hear us up the back?’

  ‘Clear as day,’ said Freddy, taking his now customary position behind Becca’s left shoulder.

  ‘And Mr Sinclair?’

  ‘Seems to be enjoying himself,’ Becca said. ‘Though it’s a bit hard to tell his happy-smug from his unhappy-smug face.’ She shrugged.

  Alice could hear Carson on stage starting up the auction. He was working the crowd beautifully and the first few bids were being shouted out with joyous abandon.

  The cast changed costumes and the stage crew readied the set for the next act.

  As the auction drew to a close, Hattie gathered the cast and tapped her walking stick. ‘Not bad. Not bad at all.’

  Everyone stopped where they were and held their breath.

  ‘An admirable job so far but, remember, the closing number is the most important. That’s what people will remember. Joey, a little more projection.’

  ‘Yes, ma’am.’

  ‘Mrs Harris, a little less. Alice, make sure you breathe properly, or you won’t be able to reach that high note.’

  Alice nodded.

  ‘Don’t let me down.’ She tapped her stick again and Freddy and Becca took one arm each and helped Hattie back on stage.

  ‘You heard the lady.’ Alice clapped her hands, jolting the frozen cast back into action. The sooner they got back on, the sooner they could finish.

  The music started, the curtain rose, the final act began.

  It was the final number, and the cast belted out the last of Cole Porter’s delicious lines.

  Resounding applause went up from the audience as the curtain closed. When it opened again Alice looked out to a standing ovation. Mr Sinclair was on his feet beside Betty, who, if Alice wasn’t mistaken, actually looked quite proud.

  Shouts of ‘Bravo!’ and ‘Encore!’ filled the hall.

  Hattie motioned with her hand that they should perform another number and Alice looked to Joey, panic across her face. They’d all been hoping simply to not embarrass themselves and be booed off stage. No one had thought about having to do an encore.