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“And what are you doing with your time these days, Penny?” She faced her old high school friend with a smile.
“I set up a wildlife refuge over near that old beach house my family owns. Do you remember it?”
“Of course—we had a lot of fun over there. Snorkelling, fishing, swimming… Some of my favourite childhood memories were at your beach house. A wildlife refuge — that sounds amazing.”
“It’s fantastic, really. I started out as an accountant years ago in Cairns. But I couldn’t stand the office life, and I’ve always loved animals. I got a grant as part of the restoration of the Reef by the state government, and I spend my days tending to and caring for fish, sea creatures and other wildlife that are injured or in need of care. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else these days.”
“That’s so perfect. You were always taking care of one stray or another in high school.”
All of the women laughed at that, remembering the boys Penny used to date.
“Now, come on. The men in my life weren’t all that bad. Were they?”
Evie grimaced. “Do you remember Sammy Taylor? We all went out for pizza one night, and you had to cut his pizza into squares for him and pay for his meal because he forgot his wallet.”
Penny burst out laughing. “I’d forgotten all about that. Perhaps it’s best that I didn’t get married then, given my taste in men.”
The four women spent the next few hours talking over old memories, eating the delicious food prepared by the staff in the kitchen next door. The noise of the dining room was blocked out by the closed door, but every time a waiter came through it to deliver something to their table or to clear a plate, the sound of happy patrons wafted in.
“You certainly seem to have a full house tonight,” Bea said as she set down her napkin with a satisfied sigh.
“It’s surprising how busy the place stays through winter—I think because our winter months are so pleasant. It rarely gets cold, and most of our rain happens in the summer months, so winter is basically a long string of warm, sunny days for people to enjoy.”
“It’s perfect,” Bea agreed. “The exact right place to start again.”
“I’m glad you’re getting the chance to rebuild yourself,” Taya said, dabbing her mouth with her napkin.
“And the cottage,” Evie added.
“Which cottage?” Penny asked.
“Do you remember my family cottage, near our house?”
Penny nodded. “Oh, yeah. Of course.”
“I’m refurbishing it, with the help of my daughter, Dani, and with my dad’s money.”
“Gotta love Dad,” Evie said with a grin.
“My dad is great. I can’t believe I didn’t fully grasp how great he was before now. He’s really been there for me in a non-confrontational kind of way. He’s there without asking questions or probing. I can talk to him about anything I like, but he never pushes me. I’ve avoided him and this island for so many years. It hurts my heart to think about how lonely he must’ve been.”
“I’ve seen him around the place, and he seems happy enough,” Taya said. “He has a good group of friends who go fishing and four-wheel driving together. They often stop by the inn for a meal on their travels.”
“Really?” Bea was glad to hear it. She wanted to believe that her neglect hadn’t caused her father too much pain. She hadn’t seen his friends in the time since she returned to the island, but perhaps they were staying away to give him space with his family.
“Don’t beat yourself up, Bea,” Evie said. “We all push away from our families in our youth. Then we come back when we sober up and realise what’s most important. It’s a normal rite of passage — stupidity and rebellion followed by repentance and reconciliation.”
Bea laughed. “I guess that’s one way of putting it.”
“Oh, I wanted to let you know I’ve been investigating the best way to process your film.”
“What film?” Taya asked as she set down her dessert spoon and pushed the half-eaten cheesecake aside.
“I found a roll of old film in a wall cavity at the cottage. I have no idea who put it there or what’s on the film, but Evie is going to process it for me so we can find out.”
“It might be completely destroyed. There’s no way of knowing whether that bag was able to keep moisture out of the film all these years. And the temperature around here gets pretty hot. But it looks like it’s a black-and-white roll, so there’s a good chance it’s in decent shape.”
“That sounds interesting,” Penny said after sipping her brandy. “It’s like one of those old mystery movies by Alfred Hitchcock or something.”
