‘Are those wedding decorations?’ James asked, trying to rise above all the fuss by focussing on Yvonne’s handiwork.

‘These are going on the ends of every pew.’

Yvonne was brimming with endless news about her brother’s imminent nuptials. The buck’s party was taking place that night at the Kippen Bowling Club. The couple would be honeymooning on the Gold Coast. Leanne’s bridal gown was coming up from Sydney and still had not been delivered, so Aunty Beck had already collected it from the city department store and was bringing it up with her. Yvonne was too young to be a bridesmaid, but she would be the only flower girl. Her enthusiasm for her handsome brother was unbridled.

‘Tony’s really nice,’ James said, sliding into the chair next to Yvonne, fingering one of the rosettes and wondering if she’d let him make one. His cousin and aunt didn’t respond, so he tried to say more, but it came out breathy: ‘He’s really funny.’

‘You’re the funny one,’ his aunt said, shaking her head.

Alan’s new currency saw him invited for the short ride over to the Kippen Bowling Club on Tony’s motorbike. Uncle Bill decreed the boy was tall enough to pass for eighteen and allowed to go to the buck’s party, with dinner at the Chinese restaurant beforehand and a roo shoot on the way home.

This led to much preparation in the boys’ bathroom, and thanks to Yvonne’s constant questioning about whether there’d be a stripper at the club, Alan and Tony started a debate around whether blondes or brunettes were more attractive.

Tony retrieved his girlie magazines for the purpose, and James got a fleeting look at their contents until Aunty Doris handed over freshly-ironed shirts and made him sit with Yvonne in the enclosed verandah to continue work on the family tree.

After Uncle Bill left for the pub, Yvonne and James had pancakes for tea and were allowed to watch television for one hour, and the house settled into silence apart from the distant sounds of the eight-thirty movie coming from the television room, where Aunty Doris sat with her coffee.

All that was left of Tony was the strong smell of aftershave.

James hunted for the magazines and found them stuffed in the bottom drawer of his cousin’s wardrobe. He shut the door, turned on the bedside lamp, and got into bed.

The first sight that got his attention was the thrown-back head of a woman, jaw dropped and eyes shut, although James could see no reason why she would pose like that. It looked as though she’d been stabbed in a horror movie.

At the back of the magazine were small advertisements with naked men. One of them gave some clues: a man stood over a woman, her head similarly thrown back and mouth open, but their point of connection was concealed by a black dot.