Back on track, p.1
Back on Track, page 1
‘Popular author Tricia Stringer returns with another engaging tale of friendship, family drama and changing times…[she] once again demonstrates why she is one of the best chroniclers of small town Australia.’
—Canberra Weekly on Keeping up Appearances
‘…another great story of family and friends with Tricia, [who is] a master at producing authentic and real people and places that take you right to the centre of the community.’
—Great Reads and Tea Leaves on Keeping up Appearances
‘“Masterful” gets used a lot in reviews, but Tricia Stringer really is. With Birds of a Feather, she firmly takes her place as one of Australia’s most accomplished writers.’
—Better Reading
‘Warm, sincere and thoughtful, Birds of a Feather is an engaging contemporary novel sure to delight readers, new and old.’
—Book’d Out
‘A good, warm-hearted read with relatable and empathetic characters.’
—Canberra Weekly on Birds of a Feather
‘Birds of a Feather is the latest offering from Aussie favourite Tricia Stringer. Her books always strike a chord with her faithful following. On this occasion, Tricia gives us a multi-generational family drama but with the emphasis on what exactly is family? A fantastic theme to ponder in these new and uncertain times.’
—Great Reads and Tea Leaves
‘A book you can’t put down … Stringer’s skill is in weaving the experiences of different generations of women together, with sensitivity and familiarity, gently showing how context can shape women’s decisions … A moving, feel-good, warm read about strong, loving women … the exact book we all need right now.’
—Mamamia on The Family Inheritance
‘… a polished family saga … all delivered with intelligence, wit and emotion in equal measures … Perfection!’
—Better Reading on The Family Inheritance
‘Tricia Stringer is an intuitive and tender-hearted storyteller who displays a real ability to interrogate issues that affect families and individuals. The Family Inheritance is another gratifying read from Tricia Stringer.’
—Mrs B’s Book Reviews
‘This book is the equivalent of a hot bath or a box of chocolates, it’s comforting and an absolute pleasure to immerse yourself in … If you enjoy well-written family sagas, look no further. The Model Wife is perfect.’
—Better Reading
‘Tricia Stringer’s The Model Wife is a beautiful multi-dimensional family saga.’
—Beauty and Lace
‘Tricia Stringer excels at two things: strong, empathetic characters; and finding an experience or emotion shared by many, then spinning that small kernel of commonality into an engaging novel. The Model Wife is no exception … Stringer’s prose is warm and friendly. She pulls you in with an easy and flowing writing style that quickly has you absorbed by the action. It’s easy to read, but that doesn’t mean it’s shallow.’
—Other Dreams Other Lives
‘[A] heartfelt saga.’
—Herald Sun on The Model Wife
‘I would highly recommend this novel and hope that readers will gain what I have from it. The Model Wife is a beautiful story with familiar challenges and a strength of a family who are connected via their life experiences together.’
—Chapter Ichi
‘A well-written, engaging story of the everyday challenges of life and love … a wise, warm, and wonderful story.’
—Book’d Out on The Model Wife
‘Delivers a gentle satisfaction that makes it a great choice for a lazy Sunday afternoon read.’
—Books + Publishing on Table for Eight
‘A witty, warm and wise story of how embracing the new with an open heart can transform your life.’
—Herald Sun on Table for Eight
‘… a moving, feel-good read … a warm and uplifting novel of second chances and love old and new in a story of unlikely dining companions thrown together on a glamorous cruise.’
—Sunday Mail on Table for Eight
‘A wonderful story of friendships, heartbreak and second chances that may change your life.’
—Beauty and Lace on Table for Eight
‘Stringer’s inviting new novel is sprinkled with moments of self reflection, relationship building, friendships and love.’
—Mrs B’s Book Reviews on Table for Eight
‘Tricia has no trouble juggling a large cast and ensuring we get to know and connect with them … captivated me start to finish; if it wasn’t the wishing myself on board for a relaxing and pampered break from reality, it was connecting with the characters and hoping they managed to find what they were looking for. Definitely a book I didn’t want to put down!’
—Beauty and Lace on Table for Eight
‘A heart-warming novel that celebrates friendships old and new, reminding us that it’s never too late to try again … If you enjoy stories that explore connections between people and pay tribute to the endurance of love and friendship, you will love Stringer’s new novel. Table For Eight is a beautiful book … If you’re looking for a getaway but don’t quite have the time or funds, look no further – this book is your next holiday. Pull up a deck chair and enjoy.’
—Better Reading on Table for Eight
about the author
Tricia Stringer is a bestselling and multiple award-winning author. Her books include Keeping up Appearances, Birds of a Feather, The Family Inheritance, The Model Wife, Table for Eight, seven rural romances and a historical saga set in the unforgiving landscape of nineteenth-century Flinders Ranges.
Tricia grew up on a farm in country South Australia and has spent most of her life in rural communities, as owner of a post office and bookshop, as a teacher and librarian, and now as a fulltime writer. She lives on the traditional lands of the Narungga people, in the beautiful Copper Coast region, with her husband Daryl, travelling and exploring Australia’s diverse communities and landscapes, and sharing her passion for the country and its people through her authentic stories and their vivid characters.
For further information and to sign up for her quarterly newsletter go to triciastringer.com or connect with Tricia on Facebook or Instagram @triciastringerauthor
Also by Tricia Stringer
Table for Eight
The Model Wife
The Family Inheritance
Birds of a Feather
Keeping up Appearances
Queen of the Road
Right as Rain
Riverboat Point
Between the Vines
A Chance of Stormy Weather
Come Rain or Shine
Something in the Wine
The Flinders Ranges Series
Heart of the Country
Dust on the Horizon
Jewel in the North
www.harpercollins.com.au/hq
For Joy and Andrew
Contents
About the Author
Also by Tricia Stringer
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thirty-One
Thirty-Two
Thirty-Three
Thirty-Four
Thirty-Five
Thirty-Six
Thirty-Seven
Thirty-Eight
Thirty-Nine
Forty
Forty-One
Forty-Two
Forty-Three
Forty-Four
Forty-Five
Forty-Six
Forty-Seven
Acknowledgements
Book Club Questions
one
One night in February – Paddington, Sydney
The deep blue of evening slowly descended over Sydney, creating a momentary lull as the day departed and the night took over. In Paddington a small group were gathered for drinks under the pergola at the back of Ketty Clift Couture. Jazz played and, as the light faded, fairy lights winked and blinked to life. They momentarily distracted Ketty from the speech she’d been about to make. She loved fairy lights. There was a certain kind of magic in them that even at seventy-one still filled her with the frisson of anticipation.
She gazed up at the twinkling strands looped beneath the vines covering her courtyard and followed the trail of one string that wound down the verandah post and stopped beside a pot containing a lush green tomato plant. It was covered in small fruit, round and bright red like the baubles on a Christmas tree, that matched the colour of the silk dress she wore.
The gentle clearing of a throat brought her attention back to the women gathered before her. Tien, one of her seamstresses, was looking at her closely. “Are you all right, Miss Clift?”
Tien had been seventeen when she’d first started working at Ketty Clift Couture. Now at forty-eight, no matter how many times Ketty insisted she call her by her first name, her employee stuck with the formality.
“Of course.”
Ketty ignored the disbelief in her smile and swept her gaze over the group before her, each with a glass of their preferred drink.
Her second-in-command, Judith, stood to one side stiffly holding a glass of wine, and at the other side of the small group stood Lacey, Ketty Clift Couture’s young designer and deft jack-of-all-trades. Funny how their drinks reflected their personalities. Judith could be as crisp as the pinot grigio she gripped while underneath dwelled a kind heart. Lacey was as sparkly as the champagne she held but could never be described as frothy.
Between them stood the three women Ketty called her engine room – these were the women who cut and sewed with careful precision. Ketty’s three long-serving seamstresses smiled back at her. Ning, who’d been with her from the early days of Ketty Clift Couture, held a glass of icy lemon squash. Tien, who was approaching twenty-eight years of service, held a glass of apple juice, and Birgit, who’d been there nearly half as long, had champagne like Lacey.
Ketty cleared her throat. From the moment she’d made her decision she’d been planning this Friday night get-together; from the drinks and nibbles to the carefully packed brown-paper bags, one for each woman, the raffia handles tied with a ribbon of their favourite colour. She wanted her staff to hear it from her while they were all together and then to give them the weekend to digest her news. She knew it would be a surprise, perhaps even a shock, and now that the time had come to make her announcement she felt a little nervous.
“Thank you, my friends, for your dedication and talent and your service to our business. Last year was one of the most successful in the history of Ketty Clift Couture and it’s because of all of you.” She lifted her glass, putting off the moment a little longer. “Join me in a toast to you all. To us.” She raised her glass higher. “To Ketty Clift Couture.”
A chorus of voices joined her. Patch, Ketty’s old black-and-white cat, startled from his position on a chair by the door and ran inside. They sipped their drinks and all that could be heard in the brief pause was Norah Jones serenading them with ‘Come Away With Me’.
Ketty savoured the easy intimacy of the gathering. They’d worked together a long time and she was concerned that the old saying ‘familiarity breeds contempt’ had somehow been infiltrating the previously harmonious working environment she’d fostered. She’d noticed some of the cracks prior to Christmas. She’d been sure it was simply that they were all in need of the break over the festive season, but they hadn’t been back at work long before it was more than scissors that snipped and needles that stabbed.
Not only had Ketty Clift Couture survived and evolved over the last few tough years, but each of these women had been integral. They’d been right beside her doing their part, but now something was wrong.
“We’ve worked together a long time.” She met Ning’s gaze. She’d been with Ketty since the early days, when the building that now housed the business and upstairs apartment had been little more than an empty relic of Paddington’s bygone era.
“I have something to tell you that may come as a surprise but I—”
“You’re retiring, aren’t you.” Tien’s words cut through Ketty’s.
“Oh, no,” Birgit wailed. “You’re not selling?”
“She is over seventy, you know,” Tien sniffed.
Judith frowned, Lacey paled, Ning cried out and then they all started talking at once.
“I’m not retiring or selling.” Ketty’s words were lost in the kerfuffle. She put down her glass and clapped her hands. “Ladies!”
They fell silent and turned back to her. In the background Norah crooned on.
“This is something else—”
“Are you taking time off?” Birgit’s eyes shone with excitement. “I know! You’ve booked a cruise.”
“That’s fabulous, Ketty,” Judith said. “You didn’t ever do anything special for your seventieth.”
“You haven’t been away in a long time,” Tien said. “It’s good you’re doing another trip before it becomes too hard for you.”
Ketty struggled to keep the smile on her face. Once more her speech had been hijacked. And what did Tien mean, ‘too hard’! The last four years had been about keeping her business afloat in a constantly changing and difficult world, though she hadn’t lied about the past year being their most successful. It didn’t mean she hadn’t longed to go on another cruise but the fact that it hadn’t been possible had been beyond her control.
“That’s so wonderful, Miss Ketty.” Lacey beamed at her.
It was enough to snap Ketty from the sudden regret that had enveloped her. After all, not taking a cruise for years was hardly something to wallow in self-pity over. Cruising had begun again and while Ketty had kept her eyes firmly averted from the tempting offers, it didn’t mean she wouldn’t go again one day.
She lifted her shoulders, ready to address the group again. This wasn’t going how she’d planned at all.
“That’s not what I want to tell you. It’s been a difficult few years but we’ve survived it. You’ve all helped to ensure Ketty Clift Couture has survived as well. And I do wish we could all go on a cruise.”
Ning shook her head and Tien looked horrified.
“Careful what you wish for.” Birgit grinned
“I have a surprise for you,” Ketty said. “Lacey, would you please hand out those bags.” Ketty indicated the brown-paper bags she’d prepared earlier, packed with an assortment of travel treats, brochures and a mock-up of a ticket.
“What are you up to, Ketty?” Judith’s look was wary as she took the bag Lacey handed her.
Once more there were murmurs from the others.
“I’ve booked us on a train trip,” Ketty blurted before they could cut her off again. “On the Ghan from Darwin to Adelaide.”
The women lifted their gazes from their bags. Five sets of surprised eyes locked on hers.
“Which I’m paying for, of course,” Ketty added quickly. “We depart mid-April.”
“Doesn’t that take a few days?” Birgit gasped.
“Four days and three nights plus two nights in Darwin before we get on the train.”
Judith glanced at the others then back at Ketty. “By ‘we’ you mean…”
“The whole staff of Ketty Clift Couture.”
two
One night in February – Sydney
Lacey unlocked her front door and let herself quietly into the house. Once inside she stopped and listened. There was no snoring, so it was unlikely her dad had drunk himself to sleep yet as he often did on a Friday night. She couldn’t wait to tell him the news about the train trip. She paused then realised nor was there a radio going, the background noise that, along with the pervasive smell of cigarettes, always announced his presence. For now it was just the usual lingering smell of stale smoke and silence that greeted her, but he might be dozing.
She stepped carefully along the passage. Even though she knew where the worst of the creaking floorboards lurked beneath the stained carpet it was impossible to miss them all.
It was almost dark outside and with the first two bedroom doors shut the windowless passage was gloomy, but she didn’t turn on a light. The third room along had been her gran’s but her dad had taken it over. It was the biggest of the three, and when Gran had renovated many years ago she’d included an en suite. The door was wide open, revealing an unmade bed, clothes strewn about and cluttered surfaces that included overflowing ashtrays. The stench of cigarette smoke was strongest there. Gran would be dismayed but not surprised.
Lacey pulled the door shut and stepped into the open-plan kitchen–living area at the back of the house. There were only floorboards so there was nothing to muffle the sound of her boots but it didn’t matter. It was obvious her dad wasn’t in the house and he rarely went out the back. Didn’t even bother to go out there to smoke now that Gran was gone.
Lacey opened the fridge and peered in. She hadn’t eaten many of Miss Ketty’s savouries and now she was hungry. She knew there was little in the fridge but she always lived in hope her dad might have shopped without her. She glanced around but there was no note to say where he’d gone. Probably at the pub with his mate Watto.
She told herself she didn’t care. It was better at home without him, but since her gran had died the old house felt so empty and even a drunk dad was better than no company at all. And she wanted to share her news.
