Thirty
Jenny heard her phone beep as she pulled up in the carpark of the pub. She opened the message from Nick and pulled a face when she reached the part about him running late. Well, she was here now. She’d worked a particularly long night shift, so waking up to Nick’s earlier message and the opportunity to spend a few hours with him before she’d need to get ready for work again was an offer too strong to resist.
She walked into the pub and took a moment to allow her eyes to adjust from the bright sunlight outside. The scent of strong, delicious coffee pulled her towards the end of the bistro. She stopped when she spotted Susie at a table, talking on the phone while studying the computer screen in front of her.
Jenny waited for the woman to look up so she could say hello, but Susie’s attention seemed to be solely on the computer and the clipped conversation she was having onthe phone, so Jenny continued on to the bar and waited beside a couple who were talking to Amy, one of the daytime bartenders.
‘It’s like a completely different place, isn’t it, George?’ the woman, who seemed to be in her early sixties, was saying.
‘Certainly a big improvement on the old pub,’ George acknowledged.
‘Well, I don’t think it’s fair to say it like that,’ the woman said with a slight snap in her voice. ‘Uncle Lionel was running acountrypub, wasn’t he? It’s what pubs were back then … Nowadays they’re all becoming … yuppified,’ she finished with a small sniff.
‘Maybe. But the old place was getting pretty run-down last time we were here.’
‘Excuse me,’ Jenny cut in, sensing the woman clearly didn’t share George’s opinion and hoping to defuse the situation in case Nick happened to walk in and cop an earful. ‘Did you sayUncleLionel? As in Gosson?
‘That’s right,’ the woman said slowly, eyeing Jenny suspiciously.
‘You’re a relative of the previous owners?’ She had a feeling Nick might be interested in having a chat to these two if she could somehow soften the slightly huffy woman.
‘Yes. I’m George’s niece. We’ve been travelling and decided to drop into Barkley to take a look around.’
‘Oh. How lovely.’ Jenny smiled. ‘Did you used to live here?’
‘No, we’re from Brisbane,’ George said, ‘but Sharon’s family were out here and we visited from time to time.’
‘The whole district has been undergoing a bit of a revitalisation. I’d imagine there’ve been a lot of changes you’d have noticed around the place,’ Jenny said.
‘Oh, we’ve noticed,’ Sharon said, not bothering to soften her displeasure with a smile of any kind.
Change was sometimes hard and Sharon’s wary attitude towards the changes around town was shared by a lot of people. But it irked Jenny that someone who hadn’t evencomefrom here was acting so offended.
‘A few years ago things weren’t looking that great for Barkley. As a local, I’m really glad things have turned around for us. I think most of the new owners of businesses in town have managed to keep the feel of the old Barkley, while just making it … better,’ she said with a smile and a shrug.
‘Well, I don’t remember it beingthatdire,’ Sharon insisted.
‘We also haven’t been out here for at least twenty years, love,’ George reminded her.
‘I suppose,’ Sharon finally conceded, and Jenny was relieved to hear the defensiveness of her earlier tone had eased.
‘I’d imagine seeing the pub for the first time in so long would be a shock when you have a personal connection to this place. But the new owner really has taken a lot of care when it came to keeping all the heritage as intact as possible. I know that meant a lot to him. Have you seen the dining room yet, with the huge mural of the original pub on the wall?’
‘No. I haven’t,’ Sharon said, seeming to perk up a little.
‘I’m sure he’d be happy to give you a tour if you liked?’ Jenny offered, inwardly crossing her fingers that Nick wouldbe okay with her volunteering him. But knowing how he loved the history of the pub, she figured he’d enjoy having a chat with some relatives of the old owner.
‘You think so?’ Sharon asked, now noticeably brighter. ‘But we’re meeting up with some travel buddies soon.’
‘I’ll have another chardonnay.’
Jenny turned, hearing Susie’s voice further down the bar where Amy had been cleaning. Jenny resisted the urge to check her watch for the time. It was none of her business if Nick’s sister wanted to drink in the early afternoon in the middle of the week … without any company. Nope, none at all.
‘Nicole?’ Sharon’s confused greeting came out sounding more like a question and Susie automatically glanced up, wearing an impatient kind of expression. ‘I thought that was you.’
‘I’m sorry?’ Susie asked, lifting an eyebrow dubiously at the woman.
‘It’s Sharon. Matthew’s cousin,’ she prompted, before continuing, ‘it was a while back now, I guess …’
