It was killing me not to call Ebony. When she said she would be home at the end of the week, I stocked the fridge and pantry with essentials and hired a cleaning company to spruce the place up. You could write your name in the dust on the coffee table and the television screen. The place was cold too. Ebony had been away for most of autumn and all of winter; even though the days were warmer now, it seemed to take a long time for the bones of the Altona townhouse to thaw out and heat up. I looked online and found a local company to service the split systems in the house: one large one downstairs and three smaller ones upstairs. I turned them all on for the couple of hours I was sorting out the food requirements. Made a difference. I topped up my thoughtfulness with a beautiful bouquet of na
