Peggy and Greta and Dell stood back while the others put up the volleyball net and unpacked things and put out rugs and started the park’s barbecue that someone had rung and asked the council to unlock. They stood back and drank Cokes someone gave them. They scowled. It was a bit of a mistake. It was all a bit lame. Peggy and Greta kept looking around to make sure no one they knew could see them. It looked a bit like they were at a Christian thing. The other people from the meetings were very loud. They laughed loud and sang – someone had brought a guitar and someone had a boom box that played music loudly. They were all so concerned with looking like they were having a good time. Dell and Peggy and Greta should have taken their quiche to the park in town, but now they were stuck. It was on the table with the other food and, while they could leave the quiche, it was still in the flan dish and if they wanted to make more self-crusting quiches they would need the flan dish. Peggy and Greta did the arithmetic, quietly. They could buy another one but they really wanted a bigger spoon and a cake tin. Michelle had given them a recipe for the chocolate cake that had no eggs, just vinegar and baking soda, and they wanted to make that. Dell looked all wrong. Poor Dell. Like a one-armed coat-hanger. Where was Heidi? Why didn’t she come home?

‘Hi.’ Someone was beside them all of a sudden, panting and indicating towards the volleyball game, like that was why he was puffed.

‘Hi,’ Greta and Peggy said.

‘Nice day,’ he said. Maybe he was Mark? Diane had joked about how most of the men were Catholic, so most were named after one of the apostles, so if you just went through those you’d probably hit on it. Simon. Andrew. James. Was he James? He was the secretary at one of the lunchtime meetings.

‘Yeah,’ they said. ‘Not too hot.’

He laughed. They weren’t sure why. Soon a woman came up and stood beside him. ‘Hi,’ she said.