“Nothing, dear.” She exchanged a look with Bert, who immediately said, “I’ve changed my mind, Alice. I do want this photo of me and the shark.”

“Hang on, Tansy. You can’t look upset and then say that.”

“Don’t take any notice of me. I’m just a silly old woman.”

“Is it something to do with the lover?”

“No.” Tansy knotted her arthritic fingers. “I can see an owl.”

“Great! Owls are wise and I could do with some wisdom.”

Tansy shook her head. “In the leaves, they mean sickness or poverty.”

Alice laughed. “Relax, Tansy. There’s nothing to worry about. I’m as fit as a flea, but the poverty part is close to accurate. I’m not earning as much as I used to when I worked in Melbourne.”

“So, you feel well?”

Lately, Alice had been sleeping fitfully from midnight and by 4:00 a.m. she was wide awake again, her head full of her worry for Libby and Nick and the girls. Not to mention the weight of her mother’s fretfulness at her current life choices. After Alice lay in the dark examining the entire mess, she’d crash back into a deep sleep somewhere between five thirty and six o’clock only for the alarm to drag her unhappily back to consciousness at 7:00. Most days she was foggy-headed and desperate for a nap by 3:00 in the afternoon.

“Nothing that a good night’s sleep won’t fix,” she told Tansy.

The elderly woman patted her hand.

Alice arrived home to an empty house. She dumped her tote bag on the kitchen table and a notepad, two gel pens, tampons, loose change and her drawing hat spilled out. She lacked the energy to scoop them back. All she really wanted to do was slouch on the couch, but she had a 5:00 till 8:00 shift behind the bar at the RSL and she needed to eat something first.

The fridge yielded leftover chicken curry and while she ate, she thought about what Tansy had said. If she had a lover in her future, she’d better set about finding him. Opening the Bumble app, she read, “In our hive, ladies make the first move.” Okay then. How did she feel about that? Apart from Tim, the hit rate for suitable men contacting her on the other app hadn’t been a big success.

You can’t call Tim a success when he’s not talking to you.

Overruling the tiny part of her that still held out hope Tim would contact her again, she channeled Missy’s words, reassuring herself she was a modern independent woman who knew what she wanted and deserved to take it with both hands. It was unexpectedly exhilarating and a very different approach from her years before and with Lawrence.