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      CONTENTS

      CHAPTER ONE

      CHAPTER TWO

      CHAPTER THREE

      CHAPTER FOUR

      CHAPTER FIVE

      CHAPTER SIX

      CHAPTER SEVEN

      CHAPTER EIGHT

      CHAPTER NINE

      CHAPTER TEN

      CHAPTER ELEVEN

      EPILOGUE

      CHAPTER ONE

      ‘MIA!’

      A slender form almost identical to her own burst forward the instant Mia emerged into Sydney’s airport arrival lounge, and within seconds she was engulfed in an enthusiastic hug.

      ‘Hey,’ she protested with a musing laugh. ‘It’s only been five months.’

      A sisterhood of two, no parents since their untimely death a decade before, the girls had been the best of friends for as long as they could remember. Sibling rivalry didn’t exist, never had, and each was sure it never would.

      Petite in height, sable-brown hair, dark brown eyes, their likeness was such they had on occasion been mistaken for twins.

      Yet Alice was the elder by two years, divorced with a nine-year-old son.

      Mia caught hold of her sister’s arm. ‘Let’s get out of here.’

      It took a while to collect her bag from the carousel, clear the busy terminal and join the flow of traffic heading towards the city.

      It was great to be home, although home was something of a misnomer, for she no longer had a home as such. During the past few years she’d lived on university campus studying for a pharmacy degree.

      Mia rolled her shoulders in a bid to ease the lingering tension from too many sleep-deprived nights leading up to end-of-year exams, the lack of caffeine, and a weariness that had little to do with either one of them.

      ‘So, tell me,’ Alice begged. ‘What’s new?’

      Hell. Where did she start? Not at all might be best, she decided, while her sister was negotiating busy inner city traffic. It would take a while to reach the northern suburb of Manly, and the kind of news she had to impart was better told seated at Alice’s dining-room table while sharing a pot of tea.

      ‘The exams went okay,’ Mia reiterated cautiously, aware she’d said as much via email.

      ‘And?’

      ‘It’s good to be back.’

      Alice gave her a searching look as the car drew to a halt at a controlled intersection. ‘You look pale. Tired,’ she elaborated.

      Mia offered a faint smile. ‘Thanks,’ she managed ruefully. ‘Just what I needed to hear.’

      ‘Nothing some home-cooked food and a good night’s sleep won’t cure.’ The brisk tone was accompanied by a competent smile.

      Alice was the ultimate earth mother, taking pride in producing wholesome hearty meals, home-baked cookies and bread, charity bakes. She sewed, stitched, crocheted, knitted, and took pottery classes. It didn’t stop there, for she also took art, sculpted, and set oils on canvas. She served on her son’s school committee, ran as president of the parent-teacher association, and excelled in organisation of all things.

      Ask Alice was an invisible bandana her sister wore with pride, for helping had become a mission in life. It made up for the five years of Alice’s marriage during which her husband conditioned her to believe she served little purpose and possessed no self-worth.

      Mia took in the familiar sight beyond the windscreen. Old buildings merged with new, dull, well-worn red brick jumbled together with renovated terrace houses, newly lacquered ornamental iron railings vying with broken wood palings. An endearingly eclectic mix that marked inner-city suburbia.

      Traffic, as usual, maintained a hectic pace in a never-ending river of vehicles jostling for position in a bid to catch the next set of lights and minimise road time.

      City smells, combining aged buildings, fuel fumes, summer heat. Trees with spreading branches bordering a green-grassed park, and, above, a cloudless blue sky.

      Mia turned her attention to her sister.

      ‘How’s my favourite nephew?’

      ‘Great. Matt is doing well in school, enjoyed a terrific soccer season, and is heavily into tennis for summer,’ Alice enthused. ‘He’s studying piano, guitar, and is a whiz at chess. He began martial arts classes this year.’

      Maternal love was unconditional, and Alice believed in the ‘busy mind, active body’ theory…totally. Fortunately her son was an enthusiastic advocate who viewed each new venture as a conquerable challenge.

      ‘I can’t wait to spend time with him.’ They shared a mutual affection that dispensed with the generation gap, a love of sports, action movies, books. Pals, she accorded fondly, and hoped the friendship part of their relationship would never change.

      ‘He has plans,’ Alice warned, and Mia offered a wry smile.

      ‘Uh-huh. I take it para-gliding, bungee-jumping and all other dangerous activities are a definite no-no?’

      Alice made a sound that was part sigh, part groan.