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Heathrow to Bangkok, Thailand and then to Melbourne, Australia, was spent with her fingernails embedded in the armrests of her seat, terrified that each jolt of turbulence was going to bring her plane down. She read one of several romance novels downloaded to her Kindle, then watched six movies back-to-back to take her mind off her maiden flight. She eventually drifted off to sleep shortly before landing.
    Bethany had just enough time to freshen up and regain her composure before she picked up a pre-booked sedan-style hire car. She was relieved to discover Australians drove on the same side of the road as the British. She programmed the vehicle’s satellite navigation system with the address she’d be travelling some 250km to in Echuka, Murray Basin and began the next phase of the most important adventure of her life. And as she drove along the Northern Highway, she sang along to Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith albums she’d Bluetoothed from her phone to the car’s stereo and tried to keep her nerves at bay.
    Bethany recalled her conversation just ten days earlier with work colleagues Lucy and Shawna. She’d stared at them across the table in the canteen, growing ever conscious that she didn’t have to be like them with their over-made-up faces, fake hair extensions and an obsession to stay skinny just to remain viable in an ever-shrinking dating pool. But she was grateful for their home truths as they helped her to understand why she had no excuse not to travel to Australia to meet Kevin, her DNA Match. The only reason preventing her was fear of the unknown.
    By the end of that week, Bethany had plundered her savings to purchase an open-ended return flight to Australia, and her understanding parents had volunteered to continue paying rent on her flat while she was away. And as her cat settled into his new life at her grandmother’s flat, Bethany was making herself comfortable in an aisle seat on a Megabus travelling to Heathrow Airport, beside herself with nervous excitement over what the next few weeks might hold. As she took another glance at the picture of Kevin she used as her phone’s screensaver, one thing she was sure of was that she wasn’t going to be disappointed.
    After a three-hour car journey, including pit stops for drinks, snacks and toilet breaks, the sat nav informed Bethany she was soon to arrive at her destination. She was on edge as she pulled the car over to the side of the road, stepped outside and stretched her tired legs. She was immediately struck by the searing heat and was glad she had lathered herself in factor fifty sunscreen before setting off.
    She glanced over at a sign reading “Williamson’s Farm” that was attached to waist-high wire fencing, running the length of a dirt track road framed by tall, scrawny trees with trunks buried deep in arid soil. In the distance, she could make out a large, white house and the roofs of outbuildings and barns that she recognised from Kevin’s texted photos.
    Bethany felt her stomach begin to churn like it would whenever she had daydreamed of what it might feel like to meet Kevin in person. Now the moment was almost upon her and she was terrified, particularly as he had no idea she was about to appear at his home without warning.
    Back at Heathrow Airport, she’d texted him a white lie, informing him she was changing mobile phone network suppliers so she’d be out of contact for a day or two, He’d sounded agitated by the news but she reassured him it wasn’t her subtle way of trying to break up with him.
    She picked up her phone and switched it to camera mode, then took a selfie of herself with Kevin’s parents’ farm in the background.
    ‘Hey babe, you okay?’ she typed; her fingers trembling so much so that she was grateful for predictive text.
    ‘Hey!’ he replied, almost immediately. ‘I’ve really missed you! You got your new phone sorted out?’
    ‘Yes thanks.’
    ‘I’m with the cows in the shed, the place reeks, man!’
    “Aww,