Legs and Borders

6:30 in the morning. I'm sitting outside The Perching Parrot in Paekakariki eating croque monsieur. Stray dog is wandering the street, sparrows are landing on the table hunting for breadcrumbs. It's raining. I'm waiting for Patsy whom I met half an hour ago standing by the beach holding a colourful umbrella, wandering if she should have a swim or not. There's too many dolphins in the sea this morning so the swim will have to wait. Patsy promised to come over and give me a lift through the next road section towards Wellington. She is the first person I've met today. Barrister comes out with my latte and informs me that the dog belongs to the dairy next door but it wanders around town every morning and that I shouldn't worry about it. Patsy comes earlier than expected buys me a tea and a coffee for herself. We sit outside and talk about her Irish heritage and how she lived in Paekakariki for 30 years with her partner. They decided to buy and live in double decker ...