‘I reckon it’s come three years too late,’ mumbled Sam, and scooped a wad of coconut rice into his mouth. Under Emily’s probing, Shirley explained that their fathers and grandfathers had been dockworkers and expected Sam to continue in the trade. Shirley and Sam had better ideas. They maintained a curiosity about stevedoring and kept up with news of the trade, the heritage they’d rejected.

‘I’m interested in how Lucky lost all his money,’ said Emily.

‘He was a gambler, you’re aware?’

‘I heard, yes.’

‘I hope he’s completely honest with you about that part of his life,’ said Shirley. ‘The man had a real problem for a while. I know for a fact he lost twenty grand in one day playing roulette. This would be, oh, not long after the Third of April. Maybe if you’re a big deal, like a Murdoch or Packer, you can drop that kind of money. Not if you’re Lucky.’

‘He told me about a construction deal that went bad. Then you came along with an offer. How much did you pay him for the franchise?’

‘How much did Lucky say?’

‘He wouldn’t say. But I get the impression it was a low figure.’

‘Lucky got himself into debt. He’d taken things as far as they could go,’ said Shirley. ‘And we arrived at the right time. It’s a shame if he still regrets the transaction. But we’ve all moved on, haven’t we?’

‘Please note that we expanded the franchise successfully,’ said Sam.

‘And we kept the two or three Greek dishes Lucky put on the menu. Back then those cafes were known for not serving Greek food.’

‘What was the precise figure for the franchise sale?’

‘We’re not going to tell you the precise figure. That’s confidential. And we’ve all moved on, like we said. We closed the franchises … when?’ She looked at Sam.

‘In ’91,’ said Sam.

‘We wound up the restaurants because people didn’t want to eat that way anymore. They wanted Thai, Sichuan, whatever. They want to sit in an old-fashioned pub and eat good food. Look at this place. It’s paradise. Sure, Lucky’s was an institution. Part of history. But it had its time. By 1991 three-quarters of the businesses were loss-making. Food culture changed. We moved on from the old cafe diner thing.’

‘We offer what people want—that’s all we’ve ever done. It’s not complicated,’ said Sam.

‘Also,’ said Shirley, ‘the generation of kids who grew up in those cafes, most of them didn’t go into their parents’ business. They went to university. They turned middle-class, the second generation, and maybe that was the whole project in the first place. I don’t know—ask Lucky.’