‘No, no. Well, in matters of the heart maybe,’ she said. ‘And you’ve got no worries about me being a secret cheater. I’m such a useless and unconvincing liar. I mean, if I try to lie, I sweat, my neck goes red and my eyeballs flick from side to side—so, you know, with me no detective work is required.’

Over the next week, Anita and Rohan spent every night together, sometimes at her place, sometimes at his. If they ran into each other around the courts during the day, they didn’t let on they were together. It was simpler that way.

Anita enjoyed drifting in the permanent state of dreamy sexual anticipation that came with a new relationship, her whole body slightly achy with lust. The speed of this thing with Rohan Mehta was giddying, but at the same time it felt surprisingly calm and harmonious. She wasn’t an infatuated girl with him, as she usually was in the early days with a new man. With Rohan, she felt like her most grown-up self. That was a new experience for Anita. A very good experience.

TEN

PAULA WAS SPENDING MORE AND MORE OF EACH DAY IN THE food court at Marrickville Metro shopping centre.

In a food court, a person could go unnoticed. A woman could sit alone at a table and no one would think anything of it. Paula kept phone earbuds in her ears so that if one of her patients recognised her, she could smile hello and pretend to be on a call.

Sometimes the smell of cooking at one of the vendors would make her bilious. The meaty odours seemed to slide into her mouth, down her throat and into her belly like a solid greasy influx her gall bladder couldn’t handle. When that happened, she would move to another section, away from whichever food smell was upsetting her.

On the other hand, hanging in the food court was also a tactic to coax herself to eat. Since Ian Ferguson, the prospect of most food made her nauseous. She couldn’t face cooking at home. She tried having food delivered, but the smell would linger in the house for hours and she’d be retching over the sink. She couldn’t order a meal in a cafe in case she couldn’t eat it and might draw attention to herself. But she discovered that in the food court she could wander between the eating options without commitment. If and when something looked appetising—a fresh juice, a tub of salad, a sandwich—she would buy it. That way she could put enough nutrition into her body to sustain herself.

She understood that her low appetite and digestive problems were a symptom of stress. She understood that perfectly well.