‘He’s looking pretty good,’ Pete said, pressing the stethoscope to Dexter’s chest. ‘Sounds good too. He needs a faecal test, but other than that, I’d say you’re doing a great job.’
‘It’s mostly Ash,’ Micky said, smiling at her. ‘She’s been doing the hard work.’
Ashley tried to smile back, but she was feeling too sad.
Her bag was packed and sitting outside in the Argo. Her plane was leaving in less than two hours. Micky had taken the opportunity of a trip to the Gold Coast to bring Dexter for a checkup at the wildlife hospital, and then she was dropping Ashley at the airport.
Ashley wasn’t only sad about leaving Dexter. As soon as they’d pulled up out the front of the hospital, she’d remembered her previous visit, where Dexter’s mother had died. She hoped he wouldn’t remember it too. He seemed to be missing his mother much less, and accepting human comfort instead.
‘What’s a faecal test?’ she asked Pete.
‘Checking his poo to make sure his gut is developing properly,’ he explained. ‘Koalas’ digestive systems are adapted so they can eat eucalyptus, and we have to make sure the joeys are developing the right intestinal flora. They normally get it by eating pap from their mothers.’
‘That’s good he’s doing well. I’m going to shift him to an outdoor enclosure tomorrow,’ Micky said. ‘A carer with two other joeys is ready to take him as soon as he’s clear to come out of quarantine.’
‘Bring him back in two to three weeks and we’ll do another checkup,’ Pete said. ‘He’ll probably be ready to join the others by then, if all goes well.’
‘Pop him back in his cage, would you, Ash?’ Micky asked. ‘I’ve got a couple of other things to ask Pete about.’
Micky followed Pete out of the examination room. Left alone, Ashley gave Dexter a scratch in his favourite place, behind the neck. He’d grown bigger in the past week — she knew from weighing him, but she could also see how much bigger he looked than when he’d last been in the hospital.
He shut his eyes, wriggled and gave her one of his funny little yips, the one that always made her smile, but she had a lump in her throat at the same time.
‘Will you be OK?’ she whispered.
Dexter blinked and raised a hind leg to scratch another part of his back. Then he shifted around and reached out for her. She picked him up and let him cuddle against her.
He closed his eyes and leaned his head against her. He wanted to go to sleep — he preferred to sleep for most of the day now, and play and eat between eleven pm and four am. But tonight, when he woke up, she’d be gone.
I’ll never see him again, she thought. She’d spent hours the night before playing with him, and now this was goodbye.
She went to stroke him, and then stopped herself. He was already snoozing. In the coming weeks he’d slowly forget about humans and bond with other koalas again, in readiness for the day he’d finally be released. She wouldn’t be helping him by patting him now. It would only be for her.
She swallowed hard, and then lifted Dexter into the cage. He stirred a little and blinked, but he was happy when she put the teddy between his paws. He gripped it and fell asleep again.
‘Bye-bye, little one,’ she whispered, and lowered the lid of the cage.
‘You ready there?’ Micky was at the door.
Ashley nodded.
‘I know it’s hard,’ Micky said. ‘With koalas you’re always saying goodbye one way or another. Can you bring him out?’
Ashley carried the cage out through the clinic. They said goodbye to Pete and headed out the front door to the car. She carefully stowed the cage on the back seat, covered it with a sheet and buckled it down with the seatbelt. Then she got into the front seat and put her own belt on.
The Argo started with its usual roar and they pulled out from the kerb. The airport was only a few minutes away, Ashley knew.
‘Figured out your puppy problem?’ Micky asked.
Ashley shook her head. She felt the same sinking in her belly that came every time she thought about Puppy.
‘Haven’t had a dog for years, not since I started looking after koalas,’ Micky said. ‘Had some great dogs in my life though. They’re the best pets.’
‘I’ve always wanted one,’ Ashley said. ‘But everything that’s happened with Puppy has made it all go weird.’
‘One thing I know about dogs,’ Micky said. ‘The right dog tends to find you, Ash. Your dad’s got a job now, and it sounds like you’ll be able to have your puppy after all. Maybe it was meant to be.’
‘Yeah,’ Ashley said. ‘You’re probably right.’
Micky turned the Argo into the airport and drove to the drop-off zone. ‘You right to get on the plane yourself? I don’t want to keep Dexter in the car longer than necessary.’
‘Sure,’ Ashley said. She felt like she’d grown up a lot in the past nine days. She’d have been a bit scared, before now, of finding her way through an airport and onto a plane. But after her time with Micky, it didn’t worry her at all.
Micky pulled up and they both got out of the car. Micky opened the side door to get Ashley’s bag. On the seat, in his cage, Dexter was sleeping. Ashley put her face close to the side of the cage. She wanted to make the ‘yip yip yip’ noise to him one last time, but she didn’t want to wake him up.
‘Bye, Dex,’ she whispered, and then backed out again.
Micky put the bag down and held out her arms. It was the first time she’d offered a hug. Ashley hesitated for a second and then put her arms around her aunt. It was a nice hug and, to her surprise, it went for quite a long time.
‘You’ve taught me something, Ash,’ Micky said when she let go of her. ‘About not shutting out the world because it’s too painful. You and Dexter, you’ve done me a favour.’
‘Does that mean you’re going to look after joeys again?’ Ashley asked.
Micky threw her hands up. ‘Settle, petal. I wouldn’t go that far. Far too much washing and cleaning. I’m over it. I’ll enjoy him for the next few weeks. After that — we’ll see what happens.’
‘I’d better go,’ Ashley said.
‘Yeah, time’s moving on,’ Micky said. ‘Come and see me again, hey? And bring your mother. We haven’t seen enough of each other. We were always too different. But I’ve missed out on seeing you grow up, and that’s a pity.’
Ashley looked at her aunt. Nine days ago, in this very spot, she’d seen an odd-looking woman in colourful clothes, yelling out her name. She’d been embarrassed by Micky. But it was all different now.
She stepped forwards again and gave Micky another hug. ‘Bye.’
‘Bye, Ash,’ Micky said. ‘Good on you.’ She swung around, slid the Argo’s door shut and almost ran around the back of the car to get into it. Ashley watched as she started the engine with a roar and the van pulled out, leaving a puff of exhaust behind it as it roared away. She knew why Micky was racing. She’d seen the tears in her aunt’s eyes.
Ashley turned around and faced the airport. It was crowded and bright, hard and noisy. The opposite of where she’d been for the past week.
But it was time to go home, and time to make a decision about Puppy.
Her mother and father were both waiting when Ashley came through the gate at Sydney Airport. Her dad gave her a huge hug and even tried to pick her up. Her mum came around on the other side and the three of them were in one big squeeze.
‘We missed you so much!’ her mother said.
‘I missed you too,’ Ashley said. It was true, though she hadn’t fully realised it till that moment. ‘I’ve got so much to tell you.’
‘And we want to hear all about it,’ her father said. ‘We’re going to the park for fish and chips and you can tell us everything about your adventure.’
Ashley linked arms with both her parents as they walked down the concourse towards the carpark. Coming back to the city felt weird, but nice too. It was familiar. It was her home.
‘There is something we have to talk about before anything else though,’ her mother said, looking down at her as they walked.
Ashley felt nervous. ‘What is it?’
‘It’s Puppy,’ her mother said. ‘We have a problem.’