"Morning, Bron, Ed. Surgery is almost over, and it doesn’t look like you have a patient for me…unless something’s been run over be a steam roller."

Bron giggled in reply as she looked down at the package. "Hi, Bobbie. I promise it’s not a squashed possum, but it is for you." Ed smiled as he handed the package over the counter to Bobbie. "There you go, Little Lady."

Bobbie carefully began to unwrap the package, trying not to rip the paper, until she heard Bron tutting and realised that the best part of unwrapping something was ripping the outer covering off as fast as possible.

Bron smiled as she watched the paper fly all over the desk, but at the same time held her breath, hoping that her gift would be well accepted.

Finally the wrapping was off, and Bobbie realised there were two pictures inside the protective cardboard framing. She held each one at arms length, studying them intensely.

"Bron, they are exquisite. They can’t be for me?"

Bron was beaming as she answered. "I’m so pleased you like them, Bobbie. I’m in my Aussie bird phase right now. I looked through the window the other day and noticed how bare the walls were, so went to the gallery to see if I had anything appropriate for decoration."

"I have to give you something for them, they are way too good for you to give away."

"Nonsense, Bobbie. Please accept them as a vet warming gift from Ed and I."

Bobbie rushed round and hugged Bron, then was engulfed in an Ed bear hug. Trying not to let the tears flow, she Kissed Ed on the cheek. "Thank you so much. It means so much to me. Now you have to help me hang them."

"I think that's more in Bron's line than mine, Bobbie. If I help they will most likely end up wrong side up," Ed winked, looking over at Bron.

"It will be my pleasure," Bron answered. "I know that Ceri wants to contribute to your walls as well. She’s going out to speak to Travis about photographing his prize bull, and hopefully Ben Wade will allow her to take some shots of his horses too. She also said she’ll take a shot of you and the staff."

Bobbie laughed at that last remark. "You mean me and JJ? That’s not going to take a lot of wall space, but it will be a nice touch. Please thank her for me."

"Hey, there's no harm in starting off small. Hopefully it won't be too long before you'll need more staff, especially when you feel busy enough to open full time," Ed remarked.

"Well, that's going to be some time in the future I suspect, but right now I'm happy to do my three days in the bank. Closing at 2:00 means I can still do a late arvo surgery if needed as well as a couple of full days."

They spent the next half hour experimenting on which wall to use, and when the paintings were finally hung to the girl’s satisfaction, Bobbie shut down the computer and locked up the office. They headed off arm in arm to Millie’s, where Ed was going to treat them to a nice lunch.