Arthur and June arrive... on Arthur time. I thought we'd finished packing, but no. We wrap everything: brooms, plastic trellis, the plant Lynette gave me. June reaches exasperation at Arthur's pedantry then relaxes. After 50 years of marriage she's been here before. The heat builds but eventually they drive away. I take some mystery dirt we found to the cemetery and put it on Tui and Lionel's grave. The wind and rain will scatter it, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. We all get there in the end. Today the sun is shining and life's for the living. I buy an ice cream, make apricot chutney then reset my thermostat in the lake. On the way home I drop in to sit with Maxine on her porch above Earnscleugh Road. We watch the world pass. A kahu swoops and hovers over the wrap around orchards. Airborne creature embracing home territory.
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