Much to everyone’s apparent shock, the first round was on George. He even poured himself a schooner and everyone raised their glasses in cheers, toasting the team’s surprising success.

Danny and his winning goal were celebrated first, and he skulled a beer as the men sang the team song. Trevor was next, downing a schooner in one fluid movement.

Nicole saw Trevor making eye contact with her from across the room and pointing her out. Mandy shook her head in warning, but the boys took no notice. Danny and another player swooped over and lifted a stunned Nicole onto their shoulders. They carried her to the bar, plonking her on top.

‘To our lucky mascot!’ Trevor shouted as he handed her a schooner.

Terror gripped Nicole as the boys started singing the team song again. She’d never skulled a beer in her life, rarely drank the stuff. As the song got louder and she looked at the expectant and joyous faces beaming up at her, she knew she had no choice but follow tradition.

The song reached its climax and she took a deep breath, downing the amber fluid dutifully, screwing up her face in disgusted triumph after the last gulp.

Trevor helped her off the bar. With hearty pats on the back, she retreated to the safety of the booth, where Mandy was waiting with a kind expression on her face.

‘Are they always this rowdy when they win?’ Nicole asked, a little breathless.

‘It’s been so long I can hardly remember,’ Mandy laughed.

Nicole waited until Mandy excused herself to go to the bathroom and then made a sneaky exit out the back entrance.

She sucked in great gulps of evening air as she walked down the quiet street and up towards the path leading to her cottage. It wasn’t the beer itself that had upset her, though that would probably come back to haunt her later. It was the feeling of having no choice in the matter.

The long, slender trunks of the gums that lined the road shone with a pale silver glow. The ocean beside her reflected the lunar light in blinking slivers. Three wisps of cloud cloaked the edge of the moon creating an eerie glow to the sleeping sky.

As she passed the boatshed she noticed a light on in one of the portal windows. Nicole stopped in her path and gazed at it.

She found herself wondering about the hermit life Charlie seemed to lead. What did he do with all that time alone? Did he read? Did he have a television in there? Did he piece together puzzles? Did he sit and stare at the wall for hours at a time, like she sometimes did?