Jeannie laughed. ‘Fooled you. No, he’s just a friend. A dear friend. His heart is taken elsewhere. In real life, back in Ireland, Emmet is engaged. Well, to be exact, he was engaged but the engagement is currently on hold. I met him in London first, as it happens. Then he went back home and brought me with him as a souvenir. I worked in his family’s pub for a month. That’s why I am able to pour such a mean pint of Guinness. I’ll show you later. I can even trace a shamrock pattern on top. His girlfriend – sorry, fiancée – announced she thought they needed some breathing space before they got married. So they agreed to “take a break”.’ Jeannie made quote marks with her fingers.

‘I’d told him about the paradise that is Australia, of course, a land of sweeping plains, et cetera. We kept in touch, he rang me one night, a bit drunk, truth be told, said he and his father hadn’t been getting on, he’d had enough of being back in Ireland, he and his cousin had decided to come to Australia for a few months. I told him they could stay with me. I got him a part-time job here too. See what a good friend I am? Loyal. Helpful. Supportive. Lascivious.’

Jeannie burst out laughing again, too loudly. She fetched more drinks, then insisted on hearing all about their love lives, their careers. She wanted Maxie to perform a monologue there and then, in the pub. She told a long rambling joke that didn’t have a punchline. When the band appeared, she insisted they get up and dance with her. They stayed far longer than either of them wanted to. It was nearly three a.m. by the time they got home. Jeannie was giggly, affectionate and very drunk as she made up their beds on the floor, a combination of sofa cushions and grubby pillows she pulled out of a cupboard. Neither of them slept much that night. The next morning they were up and out early, before any of her flatmates were awake. They treated her to breakfast – ‘I love having rich friends!’ she kept saying – before making their way to the bus station for the long journey home.

Things changed between them after that visit. Olivia’s study program increased. She also began a weekend job at a prestigious gallery, with the possibility of it becoming full-time after she graduated. Maxie’s bit part on the TV series turned into a more regular role, involving long hours and a rising public profile. Maxie’s elderly aunt died, leaving her flat in Petersham vacant until it was sold. She was offered the chance to house-sit. Olivia moved in with her.