‘Only a few times, mostly at the weekend, and when he brought Daisy back after he stole her from school.’

‘He’s busy pulling his life back together. If you make the trip midweek he’ll probably never even know you’re gone. C’mon, a few days. It’ll do you good to get away, get a fresh perspective. Have a swim and a drink and talk to interesting people.’

‘That’s for sure.’

‘I just think this could be perfect timing. It would be a sizeable chunk of money if you got the contract. Fancy hotels have big budgets, so they can pay well. And you need the money.’

‘That’s all true,’ Grace said. ‘Okay. I’ll look into it.’

‘Just do it.’ Melanie lifted her glass and clinked Grace’s cocktail. ‘Cheers. Or whatever they say in Balinese!’

*

The following day, as Grace and Tina sat on the verandah with a pot of tea, Grace talked over the idea of checking out the job in Bali with her mother. Sparkle was sleeping comfortably on Tina’s lap.

‘I think Mel’s right, it’s a good idea. Just go for a few days initially, get the lie of the land. See if it’s at all feasible. And if they’re paying, what have you got to lose?’ said Tina. ‘You know Daisy will be fine here with me.’

‘Thanks, Mum. I know having us here is a big ask, especially as you’re looking after Daisy so much. You haven’t played tennis for weeks.’

‘Oh, the girls from the club came over for tea. They adored Daisy. And it’s not as though I’m not getting any exercise!’

‘She does keep you on the run,’ agreed Grace.

‘I do things while she’s at school. And this won’t be forever. I feel blessed to have this special time with my granddaughter.’ Tina put down her teacup. ‘I think you should just go to Bali. You don’t have to answer to Lawrence. Can you give me a letter of power of attorney as Daisy’s carer? Frankly, I wouldn’t let Lawrence know what you’re doing. He’ll just try and stop you. Keep it simple; you’ll be knee-deep in lawyers and legal stuff soon enough.’

Grace took a deep breath. ‘Okay. I’ll tell Allison at work I want to go and suss it all out.’

‘They must think highly of you, Gracie. It sounds like a big deal.’

‘Mmm, yes, it does,’ she admitted. ‘Maybe that’s exactly what I need.’

‘And what better place to do it? I think you’ll find Bali will blow you away.’ Tina paused and sighed. ‘Obviously it’s so different now from when I was there in the seventies.’

‘The big OS trip, what, when you were nineteen, right?’

‘Yes, they called us the overlanders. Waves of Australian kids travelled through Asia, Nepal, Europe and then on to London. We thought we were pretty adventurous. No one had much money, and we all tried smoking pot and heaven knows what, but in reality, it was a time of innocence, of freedom. It was the era of the first Aussie surfers heading out into the unknown, the Morning of the Earth film and all that.’ Tina stopped and smiled.