The Briny Café by Susan Duncan Page A

Kate about the magic of being awake while most folks were tucked in their cosy beds. About how the purity of the stars and the moon made him feel big and small at the same time. How when he was overcome by the vast clarity of the night sky, he sometimes forgot to breathe for a moment or two.
    He recounts, then, that she asked him what were the most important skills to have on the water: Good eyes, attention to detail – such as the weather and the level of your petrol tank (ha, ha) – patience and the ability to make quick decisions. Same as life, when you think about it. She gave him a blaster of a smile that lit up eyes the colour of the deep blue-green ocean and as far as he’s concerned, she’s made a friend for life. She paid him with a decent tip that was neither too little nor too much, which means she understands the value of money but is not, as a fresh new wave of rumours suggest, a cheapskate. Then she shook his hand and thanked him sincerely for his advice.
    If he is any judge of character – and anyone who spends as much time dealing with the general public as he does, knows a few things about human behaviour – Kate Jackson is a quick learner. He told her he’d be waiting for her return with open arms and he swears he saw a tear in her eye.
    Cook’s Basin News (CBN)
    Newsletter for Offshore Residents of Cook’s Basin, Australia
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    NOVEMBER
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    COME AND CELEBRATE SUMMER AT THE FIRESHED DINNER
    When: The last Thursday of the month
    Where: Oyster Bay Fireshed
    Chef: Marcus Allender, the new resident in Kingfish Bay (he had a restaurant in the city before retiring here!)
    Cost: $15.00 (adults) $5.00 (children)
    Menu: To be announced
    Remember: An extraordinary meeting (that doesn’t mean it’s replacing the AGM) has been called and will take place prior to the fireshed dinner at 6.30 p.m.
    More Car Park Activity
    Frankie from the Oyster Bay boatshed reports his car was broken into and vandalised two days ago. Thieves took his spare tyre, the tools to change a tyre and then busted the radio and CD player just for fun. If anyone has any information regarding these increasing attacks on private property please call the police. Illegal activities of any kind cannot and will not be tolerated. Some residents have suggested using CCTV cameras to catch the culprit. This must surely be a last resort. Keep your eyes and ears open and make our offshore community safe.
    BREAKING NEWS!
    Word sheets and music sheets for the Christmas Choir are now available on the Cutter Island Residents’ Association website. They can be downloaded and printed so there is no excuse for anyone turning up without them. (Are you listening, Phil?)
    The performance will be on Sam’s beautiful barge, the Mary Kay , on December 21, barring bad weather. So dust off the Santa hats, oil the vocal cords according to personal taste, and get into musical training.

CHAPTER NINE
    â€œEttie!” Big Julie pokes her head out of the tangled plastic strips and waves a tea towel above her head like a lariat. “Bertie’s been waiting for you. How about a coffee? On the house.”
    It must be something big, Ettie thinks. Bertie’s never given away so much as a paper napkin without an argument.
    â€œWhat’s up?” she asks, a smile firmly in place.
    Big Julie waves her inside the café. “Bertie wants to have a chat. He’s on the deck. Says if you’d prefer a beer, he’ll spring for that instead.”
    â€œEverything alright, Julie?”
    â€œUp to a point. Yeah, that about says it. Just get out there, will you? It’s almost closing time and he’s a bit buggered after a long afternoon of appointments – of the kind none of us wishes to have.”
    Ettie pushes open the squealing wire door.
    Bertie, haloed in the last gauzy light of day, is sitting at a table in the corner, looking out to sea. He wears a sports jacket with brass buttons over a