Alex padded through the kitchen and out to the back garden, where Mum and Grandpa Jacob were drinking tea and watching the shadows lengthen across the valley. They had been doing a lot of that over the last few days. Just sitting. Watching the day unfold in front of them.
Mum’s memories from when she was sick were pretty hazy (although, she did remember having a very vivid dream about a Tasmanian tiger), but her strength was slowly returning and, all in all, she was back to being regular old Mum. Which was, in Alex’s opinion, the best and most perfect Mum there ever was.
Alex nestled on the bench next to her and gazed over the charred olive grove, where tiny seedlings had miraculously managed to push through the ash, bringing drops of colour to the charcoal ground. Alex wasn’t sure if Mum totally bought Grandpa Jacob’s explanation that he had burned the trees to help them grow back stronger, but she hadn’t pressed him on it.
Mum handed Alex a slice of apple cake. Leeuie had dropped it over an hour earlier, freshly-baked and still warm from the oven. Yesterday had been apple strudel, and the day before apple muffins. His way of saying, ‘Sorry I tried to kill you but thanks for saving my life anyway’.
Alex had told him, over and over, that he didn’t have anything to be sorry for. Especially seeing as he’d already saved her life. And, besides, what were friends for if not getting rid of the evil spirits possessing you? But she didn’t protest too much because what kind of person turns down baked goods as great as these?
‘Did you get through to your dad?’ Mum asked, stealing a bite of Alex’s cake.
Alex nodded. The day before, Grandpa Jacob had insisted Alex and Leeuie accompany him into town so he could buy ‘one of those Inter Web things’ so they could easily keep in touch.
‘Just for any Kiala developments,’ he’d added. ‘I’m not one of those people who needs to chitchat every day about the weather and what I’m having for dinner.’
‘Sure,’ Alex said, suppressing a grin. She suspected she would have many video calls with Grandpa Jacob in her not-too-distant future on topics such as the weather and what he was having for dinner. Not that she minded. In fact, she was quite looking forward to it.
Alex had also taken the opportunity of Grandpa Jacob getting with the digital program to make things right with Dad and (virtually) meet her little sister for the first time.
‘So?’ Mum raised an eyebrow. ‘What’s the verdict?’
Alex snuggled closer to Mum as the sun dipped lower and the sky over the farm burned brilliant shades of orange and pink. ‘She is the most hilarious little sister ever,’ she said. ‘Dad was trying to make her do this gurgling noise that he thinks sounds like a blocked drain, but then she puked all over him and he started swearing, and then Courtney —’ she added the obligatory eyeroll here, more out of habit than anything else, because Dad’s girlfriend was alright really, ‘— started swearing at him for swearing in front of his daughters.’
Mum laughed. ‘I bet he’s looking forward to seeing you next week.’
Alex was looking forward to seeing him, too. Being mad at someone for so long was exhausting. Not that she was going to admit that, of course. She was fairly confident she’d be able to milk this for more than a few ice-cream sundae dinners.
Grandpa Jacob cleared his throat. ‘And I suppose, Elina, you’ll be heading back to work after Alex leaves?’
‘I was actually wondering about staying a while longer,’ Mum said. ‘Just in case you need help with anything.’
‘Oh, well,’ Grandpa Jacob blustered, ‘I don’t need the help —’
‘Of course you don’t,’ Alex and Mum said at the same time.
Grandpa Jacob shot them a look. ‘But it’s no bother if you want your old room back for a few days. Or weeks. Alex, that goes for you, too. You’re welcome anytime.’ He fiddled with his mug. ‘If you want to come back, that is.’
Alex grinned at him. ‘Wild alpacas couldn’t keep me away.’
Down in the paddock, the alpacas shook grass from themselves and made their way to the barn. Moraika’s neck wound was healing well, thanks to Leeuie’s Discovery Channel inspired medical skills, and he’d since added ‘vet’ alongside ‘farmer’, ‘explorer’ and ‘botanist’ to the list of things he wanted to be when he grew up.
‘Come on, Ollin,’ Moraika called to the black alpaca who was still staring, mesmerised, at the huge pile of apples Alex and Leeuie had surprised them with that morning. ‘They’re not going to grow legs and walk away overnight!’
‘They’re just so beautiful I can barely breathe!’ Ollin called back.
Alex had to cover her laugh with a cough. She gave Moraika a secret wave and the alpaca lifted a foot, waving back.
Mum squinted, leaning forward. ‘Huh,’ she said. ‘If I didn’t know better, I would have sworn that alpaca just waved at us.’
‘Maybe she did,’ Alex said.