Natalie and Faye settled themselves on their sun-lounges. Faye stared off after her friend and gave a shake of her head. “She won’t be able to find them.” Natalie expected Faye to say something acerbic as she often did but was surprised when her next words were gentle instead. “I don’t know what I would have done without her friendship over the years.”

Natalie immediately felt the deep sting of Brenda’s move away; close neighbours and best friends, they’d shared the highs and lows of life, like Dot and Faye.

“How long have you known each other?” she asked.

Faye pondered a moment. “Thirty-five years. She’s reliable in a crisis, is Dot.”

“I imagine you are too.”

“Hmmm.” Once again Faye seemed to ponder. “Fifteen years ago both my sons got jobs overseas and in a flash they were gone. They’d been my reason for getting out of bed each day for so long, I fell in a big hole. I was fifty-three and all I’d done with my life was teach and raise two boys.”

Faye’s words were like a can-opener peeling back the lid on her own life. “What did you do?”

“I took up swimming.” Faye raised her sunglasses, looked steadily at Natalie and grinned. “Some people buy fast cars. I have a heated lap pool in my backyard now.”

Natalie tried to think of something she was so passionate about that she would invest that kind of money in it and came up blank.

“I also went to a life coach,” Faye said. “I only lasted one session but I came away with a nugget I’ve stuck by. Don’t let anyone should you. Even people close to you with the best of intentions will want you to do things their way. Accepting that I had a right to do things my way helped me deal with the guilt of my marriage failure, of raising two sons without their father.”

Natalie studied Faye. Never in a million years would she have thought her the kind of person who felt guilt about divorcing an alcoholic husband. She appeared so composed and in control of her life but perhaps she hadn’t always been like that.

“I had to turn the room upside down to find my spare glasses,” Dot’s bright voice called as she approached.

“Surprise,” Faye muttered and sat her own glasses firmly back on the bridge of her nose.

“Oh, here comes that nice waiter again.” Dot waved and gave a girlish titter as the young man who’d been bringing them drinks each afternoon approached. He was young enough to be Dot’s grandson but she flirted outrageously with him and he was sweet enough to play along.