Kate’s parents were school teachers, and she worked in the office of a plumbing firm in Alexandra. The chances of her ever meeting Pearly, the Dunedin student, seemed slim, but he went fruit picking in Roxburgh at the end of his second year, and they danced together in Alex to a three-piece band who wore striped shirts just like the Kingston Trio. It was so warm both in and out of the hall that jackets and jerseys were heaped high on the stage, corralling the band, and tears of sweat ran down Pearly’s cheeks as he danced. Kate was tall, strong and round-faced. She talked rapidly, pausing only to laugh. Pearly had made sure he was the first over to her side of the hall to ask for the supper dance, and that was the start of a summer romance, though neither would have used such a trite Hollywood term.

For over three weeks following the dance, Pearly regularly took the road through the tussock and schist tors from Roxburgh to Alex to see her: late evenings when picking was finished as well as weekends. They had fun, they swam and walked, kissed a lot, but Pearly of course wanted to make love. They had an argument about it on what proved to be their last meeting, and the disagreement was the reason for that finality. Turned out she was religious. That had never come up before. ‘I walk with Jesus,’ she’d said emphatically at the end of their quarrel.

All that came to mind for Pearly as he lay awake with Helen beside him. He supposed Kate had been looking for the right person to marry while Pearly had just wanted a good time. He hadn’t thought about Kate for years, but he did so now with affection. He hadn’t wanted the company of Jesus when he was with Kate all those years before, but he hoped the two of them were still together.

‘I walk with Jesus,’ said Pearly softly.

‘What?’ said Helen sleepily.

‘This girl I knew, she told me she walked with Jesus.’

‘Rather than with you, I suppose.’

‘Nail on the head,’ he said.

‘Well, you’d have to say that’s some competition,’ and Helen laughed.

TWELVE