“Yeah. I always try to do that when I fly back to Melbs from overseas.” Jules took her unfinished wine to the kitchen. “I’m glad you like the wine, by the way. We’re having it at Christmas. Matt made it.”

“He made it?”

“Yeah. He didn’t tell you he was a winemaker?”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Yeah, he’s kind of a big deal in the wine world. He won a ‘winemaker of the year’ award last year—the first Indigenous person to win it. Anyway, he can tell you about it himself.”

Adding “talented” to the growing list of adjectives to describe Matt, Jules sleepily brushed her teeth in Chloe’s bathroom, quickly slathered on some night cream and fell into Chloe’s bed.

A hot Aussie winemaker, who saved the day … was her last thought as she drifted off into an exhausted sleep.

*

“This way!” Jules followed Ash closely through the market, amazed at how well Ash manoeuvred through the crowd. “Just the prawns and the ham left to pick up,” Ash called over her shoulder. They came to a stop at a deli counter that was three people deep, all of them raising their hands and shouting over the hullabaloo of everyone else shouting.

“This place is for the prawns. I pre-ordered so it shouldn’t take too long,” shouted Ash. “Then we go over there for the ham.” She pointed at a shopfront two counters down.

“Is it always like this?” Jules was comparing the South Melbourne market—it was the size of a city block, packed to the rafters, and all under one roof—to farmers’ markets back home, with their relaxed atmosphere, outdoorsiness, and space. Of course, none of them were open at this time of year. The thought of all that produce snap-frozen from the cold air made her chuckle to herself.

“What, the market? It’s a little crazier than usual ’cause of Christmas, but it’s always busy. It’s ’cause everything’s high quality here—the meat, the seafood, the fruit and veg.” They shuffled forward as more people ahead of them turned away from the counter and pushed through the crowd with half-hearted “excuse mes”.

“And this is where you and Chloe normally shop?” Jules was trying to get a picture of what everyday life was like for Chloe and Ash.

“Um, sometimes. We’ll make the effort if we’re having a dinner party or for special occasions. It’s expensive, though, so we usually go to Woolies.”

Jules assumed that Woolies was just a regular a grocery store. And hearing Ash say that the market was expensive reminded her—she wanted to pay her fair share for what was going to be a spectacular Christmas feast.

“By the way,” she started, just as the couple in front of them moved aside and they took their place at the front of the line. “I want to contribute to all of this.”

Ash flicked her a look. “You don’t need to do that. It’s all good.”

The man behind the counter pointed at Ash and she rattled off her pre-order to him. He left the counter to get it.