Afterwards, lying there together, Rohan rested his hand gently on the spot where her ribcage stopped and the soft part of her belly started. She put her hand on top of Rohan’s, holding it against her skin. She wanted to remind herself that a man could hold a woman’s body with tenderness. She didn’t explain what she was doing, but she figured there was a good chance he understood anyway and was considerate enough not to diminish it by saying anything.

The next Sunday, Anita and Rohan decided to catch the ferry to Manly—aiming for a restorative day of inhaling the ocean, walking along the wintery beach, stuffing their faces with burgers—and they invited Paula to join them but she said no.

Anita was still worried her friend might be shaken by the Santino verdict, especially after Anita had persuaded her to invest emotional currency in the trial, building up expectations of a satisfying result.

Paula had sounded okay when they talked on the phone, but Dr Kaczmarek could always bung on that calm doctor voice, so Anita remained uneasy.

Change your mind and come to Manly with us today. A xx

Don’t be silly. I’m fine. Go and have a delightful day with your lovely man. P xx

And they did have a delightful day. And he was a lovely man.

Walking back towards the ferry wharf at the end of the afternoon, Anita said, ‘I think our restorative outing was exactly what we needed.’

‘I agree,’ said Rohan.

‘But look, I gotta tell you I feel a bit guilty about having a lovely time when—y’know …’

‘When so much horrible shit has happened?’

‘Yes. And you need to know that whatever is going to happen with us, Paula is a huge priority for me—I mean, I can’t just …’

‘No, no, I understand,’ he assured her. ‘You’ve got to take care of your friend.’

She halted abruptly on the crowded footpath in order to kiss him, causing a minor pedestrian pile-up. He kissed her ardently, but at the same time steered her out of the path of an oncoming power-walker with the assured grace of a ballroom dancer.

When they stopped kissing long enough to come up for air, Anita urged him, ‘Let’s always be open, please—let the air get to things so they don’t go all festy and putrid.’

‘Mmm, festy and putrid,’ Rohan said with jokey growl of lust.

There were delays with the ferries, so they had to sit on the slippery gloss-painted benches and wait ages for the next one. But in their contented mood, that felt fine, as if it was happily prolonging their excursion rather than causing irritation.