Six
Joe poured his coffee and spread his toast with the lemon, lime and ginger marmalade which had been Barb’s favourite, before settling down with Coco at his feet to read the newspaper.
The first edition of The Crossing Echo had arrived on his doorstep that morning, weeks before Finn’s predicted date, and Joe was eager to see what it was like. The masthead was different to that of the previous paper, of course, and he grimaced at the sight of his photo on the front page, with the editorial thanking him for his foresight and persistence in turning an idea into reality. He quickly turned the page.
Joe’s coffee grew cold as he read through what was a completely new style of local paper. Finn had really gone to town to make this a newspaper for Pelican Crossing to be proud of, a paper worthy of the community to which it belonged. He should be proud of what he’d achieved. While Finn – and others – might give credit to Joe, it was the editor and staff of the new Echo who had produced the paper. He picked up his phone.
Ten minutes later, he had congratulated Finn on his achievement and arranged to meet him for lunch.
‘Sorry, Coco,’ he said to his dog, ‘you’ll have to stay home today. I have to meet Erica’s plane this afternoon and they don’t permit dogs in the airport unless they are working dogs or in a safe kennel.’
Coco looked at Joe, her sad eyes telling him she understood but didn’t like it.
‘I’ll take you for a walk when we get back. Erica will want to stretch her legs and she’s going to love you.’
Coco gave a soft ‘Woof’ and padded to where her bed lay just inside the back door.
‘Good dog.’ Joe went over and scratched her ears, before picking up his keys and checking he had his wallet. He planned to spend a quiet morning in the office, then head to the airport immediately after lunch.
But the best laid plans… Almost as soon as he arrived at work, he was drawn into a disagreement with two councillors about their desire to restrict access at the town's most popular off-leash beach. They were two of the most belligerent councillors, and Joe was hard put to maintain his cool when they accused him of being biased and even had the temerity to suggest it was an offense to bring Coco into the office.
Luckily, he was saved by his PA reminding him of an appointment. He followed Debbie out of his office, confused. It wasn’t like him to forget an appointment.
‘I heard raised voices and thought you might need rescuing,’ she said, when they were out of hearing of the two troublemakers.
‘Thanks,’ Joe said.
‘Were they hassling about the dog beach again?’
‘How did you guess?’
‘They’ve been going on about it for ages, long before your time. But the dogs don’t do any harm and it’s good for them to be able to run free. It’s far enough away from surf beach, where the surf lifesavers are and where families go to swim. All dogs are on the leash there. I wouldn’t let it worry you.’
But Joe was worried. If these two felt that way, how did other members of the community feel? Was this something he needed to put to the council as a whole?
‘Coco,’ he said with a sigh.
‘Oh, dear. They didn’t… did they? How dare they? We all love Coco. It’s not as if they’re in the office every day like we are. Pay no attention to them, Joe.’
But Joe knew it wasn’t so easy. They were elected members of council and, until they were voted out – or retired – he had to listen to their views. But it was true what Debbie said, Coco was popular with the office staff who always spoke to her and petted her. Debbie wasn’t the only one who offered the dog treats when they thought Joe wasn’t looking.
‘Thanks, anyway, Deb.’ Joe’s forehead creased. This was just one more thing to worry about. He didn’t want to be on bad terms with any of the councillors, especially these two who had the reputation of being difficult.
By the time lunchtime came around, Joe had calmed down, but he was glad to get out into the fresh air. He walked smartly along the street and down towards the harbour, glad he had arranged to meet Finn. Seeing the inevitable pelicans perched on the bollards, waiting for a fishing boat to be unloaded, Joe grinned. It was difficult to feel down in the presence of these magnificent birds with their elastic throat pouches. He’d read how, contrary to common opinion, the birds didn’t use the pouch to store fish, but as a dip net to catch the fish which they swallowed immediately.
He arrived at the hotel before Finn and, greeting the barman, he ordered two glasses of beer and automatically checked his phone. There was a message from Erica to say she’d spent the night in Sydney and was on her way to the airport. He was glad she’d broken her journey and hoped she’d managed to get a good night’s sleep. She had still given him no indication of her reasons for leaving Geoff.
‘Joe!’
Joe looked up to see Finn smiling at him.
‘This for me?’ Finn gestured to the untouched glass of beer, still beaded with condensation.
‘It is.’ Joe slipped his phone into his pocket and took a gulp from his own glass.
‘Your sister?’
‘Yeah. She’s arriving this afternoon.’
‘Why don’t the two of you join Liz and me for dinner?’
‘Thanks, mate. But maybe not today. Give Erica time to settle in first. Can I let you know?’
‘Sure.’
Joe took another drink. ‘Congratulations again on the first edition of The Crossing Echo . It’s a ripper.’
‘Glad you like it. When we redesigned the masthead, we decided to revamp the entire design. Hope you liked the front page.’ Finn chuckled.
Joe grimaced. ‘I’m sure you could have found a better image. But the rest of the paper is pretty amazing.’
‘Thanks, I can’t take all the credit. I’ll pass on your compliments to the staff.’
‘Please do.’ But Joe knew Finn was the driving force behind the new look. It was his vision which had set it all in motion. Like Joe, he tended to deflect compliments. It was what made Finn a good manager. ‘What’s next?’
‘You’ll find out next week. We’re finally going to publish the colour supplement I’ve been talking about for ages but couldn’t get the consortium to agree to. I’m glad I kept back the feature about old Agnes and her pelican rescue centre. The photos Coop took there are amazing, and after some negotiation – and a donation to the centre – Agnes has agreed to allow us to put one of her on the cover.’
‘You must have done some fast talking there.’ Joe chuckled.
‘I’ve got to know her since Coop and I were out there taking photos. Sandy and I often see her when we’re walking on the beach,’ he said, referring to his grandson. ‘Sandy’s dog, Bluey, and Agnes’s Lady have become friends.’
The mention of dogs on the beach reminded Joe of the dispute he’d become embroiled in earlier. ‘About that.’ He cleared his throat. ‘I got into a bit of a disagreement this morning… about restricting dog access to the beach.’
‘What?’
‘Would you like to order, Joe?’ the barman asked, interrupting their conversation.
‘I’ll have my usual pie and chips. Finn?’
‘Same for me.’
‘My shout, I invited you.’ Joe took out his credit card and swiped it.
The bar was becoming busier, so the pair made their way to a free table before continuing their discussion.
‘Tell me again… dog access to the beach,’ Finn said.
‘It’s the usual story,’ Joe said. ‘A couple of disgruntled councillors with not enough to do have decided to take aim at me and Coco. They’re prettying it up with pretend concern for beachgoers. Though Debbie says they’ve brought it up with the previous council too.’ He pulled on one ear. ‘Anyway, they want all dogs to be on leash, supposedly for the safety of everyone else on the beach.’
‘But it’s on the open beach not the bathing part, isn’t it?’ Finn frowned, as if trying to recall the different stretches of beach.
‘It is. They brought up Coco’s presence in the office too.’ Joe felt a resurgence of the anger which had engulfed him when Coco’s name had been mentioned.
‘Bloody hell!’ Finn seemed to think for a moment then, ‘I can’t do anything about the office, but why doesn’t The Echo do a feature on the dog beach and how important it is for our four-legged friends? I’m sure I can persuade Agnes to let us photograph her and Lady, and Sandy would be thrilled to see Bluey and him in the paper. No doubt we could bring on board a few other dog owners, too.’
‘What a brilliant idea. I know Poppy Taylor and one of her friends own Westies. They’d know other dog owners too.’
‘Great! I can talk with Rhana Black, the breeder where we bought Sandy’s spaniel. Then there’s the local vet… And we should include a mention of you and Coco. We can’t leave out our local mayor.’ He chuckled.
‘Maybe,’ Joe said cautiously. He didn’t want to inflame the two councillors. They were upset enough with him already.
‘I suppose we need to give both sides. You willing to let me have the names of the guys who spoke to you?’
‘Sure. I’ll get Debbie to send you their contact details.’ Joe could sense Finn’s rising excitement. He’d seen it before when the editor got the bit between his teeth.
Their meals arrived, and the conversation stalled as they enjoyed the food, served with the hotel’s usual flair.
After coffee, Joe checked the time and realised he’d need to leave if he was to make it to the airport in time.
‘Thanks, Finn. Good talking with you as always, and congratulations again.’
‘No worries. Thanks for lunch. I’ll be in touch re getting a shot of you and Coco, and don’t forget your promise to have dinner with Liz and me once your sister feels ready.’
‘I won’t, thanks.’
*
Joe arrived at the airport with only a few minutes to spare, glad he’d left The Grand when he did. He parked the car and hurried into the terminal just as the passengers from Sydney were disembarking.
When he saw Erica coming towards him, he caught his breath. Instead of the elegant woman he remembered, he was looking at an older, more worn version of his sister. What had happened to her in the two years since they last met?
‘Erica!’ Joe pulled her into a hug, feeling her sag against him.
‘Oh, Joe. It’s so good to see you. Thanks so much for agreeing to my coming to stay.’
Releasing his sister, Joe thought he could detect the trace of tears on her cheeks, but the Erica he knew never cried. Even when she had fallen out of a tree when she was eight, she’d refused to give in to tears. ‘Let’s get your luggage,’ he said gruffly, hiding the emotion he was feeling at the sign of her unfamiliar weakness.
‘I just have one small case. It was all I could manage to pack.’
‘Right.’ Taking Erica’s arm, he led her across to the luggage carousel where, after only a few minutes, the luggage began to emerge.
‘There it is,’ she said, pointing to a small black case.
Joe picked it up. She hadn’t brought much. How long did she intend to stay? It wasn’t like Erica to travel so light. He glanced at his sister. There were dark circles under her eyes, a sign she hadn’t been sleeping well. He needed to know what was wrong but now wasn’t the time to ask.
Erica didn’t speak on the drive home. To break the silence, Joe found himself babbling on about what was happening in Pelican Crossing – the new newspaper, the dispute about the dog beach, Coco. He was glad to finally reach the house he and Barb had lived in all their married life and which he couldn’t bear to leave. It was filled with memories.
As soon as he opened the door, Coco bounded up to greet them, pushing her nose into Joe first, then moving on to investigate Erica.
‘Down, Coco,’ Joe said, worried she might upset Erica.
‘She’s fine,’ Erica said, bending down to stroke the dog, her lips turning up into the first smile Joe had seen that day. ‘What a lovely girl you are,’ she said to the dog who reacted to her affection by licking her hand. ‘Thanks for this, Joe,’ she said again. ‘You don’t know how much it means to me.’
Embarrassed, Joe cleared his throat. ‘Coco has been in all day. She needs a walk. Do you…?’ He looked at Erica, unsure if she had the energy to join them.
‘I’d rather have a lie down, if it’s all right with you. I didn’t get much sleep last night… or the night before.’
Or even before then, Joe thought. ‘No worries,’ he said. ‘We won’t be gone for long, then we can have a bite to eat.’ He showed her to her room and, taking down Coco’s leash, headed out.
As he and the dog made their way in the direction of the beach, Joe was more distracted than usual, failing to enjoy the sights which normally gave him pleasure. He was concerned about his sister. There was something very wrong, and he was determined to get to the bottom of it.
Joe waited till after dinner, a dinner of which Erica ate very little, pushing the steak and salad around her plate before saying, ‘I’m sorry, Joe. I’m not very hungry.’ He made them both coffee and carried it through to the living room, Coco following as usual and dropping into her usual spot at Joe’s feet.
Erica took a seat opposite Joe in one of the comfy armchairs.
‘Erica,’ he said gently. ‘I can see you’re unhappy. Won’t you tell me what’s wrong?’
To his surprise, his normally self-contained sister broke into a flood of tears.