Eden had landed a three week gig opening for Holy Rollins in the Philippines before she hooked into Francis’ Shoot The Moon tour. Willow was excited, but it meant leaving Melbourne sooner than expected. To his surprise, a tonne of his friends were taking the news hard, even the quiet, manly ones like John Yarding and Derek. He squeezed his mate’s shoulders. “I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you, too,” he said so quietly it was like wind rustling.

He put a hand behind his ear. “Huh?”

“Oh, fuck off, Ginger. Get away from me.”

Smiling, Willow stood. Slowly, Derek got to his feet too. “You know, there’s still time for you to fuck things up with Eden and hand over the Lambo.”

“No fuckin’ way. We’re together for good. That G-Wagon’s mine.”

“It hasn’t been a year,” Derek warned. “Those were the rules. A year, or an engagement or a baby.”

“I’m not gonna propose.”

“I should fucking hope not. That’d be jumping the gun, even for you.” Derek shook out his shoulders. “BT, what’s the clock?”

Byron checked his watch again. “One minute to go.”

Derek blanched. “Alright, let’s get this over with.”

Byron headed for Derek, face set. Willow thought he was going to slap him too, but Byron wrapped his arms around their friend. “Love you, bloke.”

Derek stiffened, then raised his arms to hug Byron back, pressing his face into his neck. “I love you, too bloke.”

Willow blinked, determined not to cry before the ceremony even started. “Time to go, boys.”

The three of them arranged themselves in front of the… not an altar because they weren’t in a church. The little platform where the celebrant was going to talk.

As soon as he was settled, Willow scanned the crowd for Eden. He found her five rows from the front, looking stunning in her red dress, her gold hair piled on top of her head. She waved, and gratitude suffused his every cell. Thank god he’d never proposed to anyone. Thank god he’d waited for Eden. Byron nudged his shoulder. “Congrats, man.”

“Yeah, she’s beautiful.”

“Nah, I mean retiring and going on tour. Good call.”

“Huh?”

“Moving on,” Byron explained. “Taking a crack at a fresh start instead of hanging around footy forever. I’m proud of you.”

Willow was too touched to say anything.

The tension in the room galvanised and everyone turned to look at the entrance as the string band began to play ‘Never in My Wildest Dreams’ by Dan Auerbach. Even the opening notes drew premature tears to Willow’s eyes.

I’m so glad we’re here. I’m so glad we’re all together.