I arrived home on Friday evening to an odd smell. Not the odd-smell from the paint-work downstairs that usually greeted me. Something a bit more pleasant. From the front door I could also see that the curtains were pulled. Also strange, since I could clearly remember pulling them that morning. When I walked forward I became aware that someone was sitting in the living room.
Cushla was paying a surprise visit and giving me an early birthday present. 38 hours later she was on her way back to Dunedin. A short, but wonderful, 38 hours.