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laughs at me.
    ‘Is that a yes, then?’
    ‘Are you kidding? I would love to!’ I lean across and give her a hug before turning my attention back to the dress.
    ‘I hope it fits. I had to call James for your measurements.’
    ‘You called James?’ I ask, surprised.
    ‘Yes–he was so sweet and helpful.’
    ‘Really?’
    ‘Yes, honestly. Lucy, I’m sure things will work out between you two,’ she reassures me.
    ‘I hope so,’ I reply quietly.
    ‘They will. You make such an ideal couple. That photo you emailed me of you two drinking through straws from the same cocktail–where were you again?’
    ‘Florida, a year ago.’
    ‘It was so cute.’
    I smile at her gratefully. I don’t want my personal dramas to take anything away from Molly and Sam’s Big Day and the lead-up to it, so I hope she doesn’t mind when I ask, ‘Do you want to see the text?’ I’m suddenly desperate to hear her verdict on that too.
    ‘Sure.’ She takes the dress from me while I run downstairs to grab my phone. When I get back, I hold the phone in front of her and scroll down slowly, so she can read the message.
    ‘And he reckons his friends sent it?’
    ‘When they were in the pub and he went to the bar, yes.’
    ‘Nice friends,’ she says sarcastically.
    ‘Well, they’re not really his friends, more his colleagues. So I don’t have to see them that often.’
    ‘Just as well,’ Molly says. ‘Lucy, I think you should delete it.’
    I look at her, unsure.
    ‘You must. It’s only going to make you feel like shit every time you look at it, and if he’s telling the truth, which I’m sure he is,’ she adds pointedly, ‘then why would you want to keep it?’
    I don’t know why, but I don’t want to delete it yet.
    She sees my hesitancy. ‘You are such a glutton for punishment. Just like when we were at school,’ she teases.
    ‘What do you mean?’ I laugh.
    ‘Oh, you know, always looking up the answers to questions, straight after maths tests, just to torture yourself when you knew you’d got some of them wrong…Reading the last page of novels because you can’t contain your curiosity, even though you know it’s going to spoil the rest of the book…Rummaging through sales racks for ages, just to see if you can find the skirt you’d splashed out on months before at a reduced price…’
    Falling for my lovely, brown-eyed schoolmate, even though I knew he was hopelessly devoted to my best friend in the whole world…I don’t say that one out loud.
    ‘Alright, alright!’
    ‘Go on, then.’
    ‘Oh, what the hell.’ I press the delete button, confirm yes, andwatch the message disappear. It’s an uplifting feeling. I should clear out my inbox more often.
    ‘Happy now?’ I ask her.
    ‘Yes, actually. I think that’s a good start. So,’ Molly holds up the dress, ‘do you want to try it on?’
    ‘Absolutely.’
    We remove the plastic completely and take the dress off its padded hanger. Molly’s seen me in my undies loads of times–although I’m sure my body has changed somewhat since we were both sixteen. With her help, I pull the dress over my head and she zips me up. For an awful moment I pray that James didn’t take my measurements from the jeans I bought last summer because, with Christmas, I’ve put on a couple of pounds since then. But if he did, Molly must have been kind: the dress fits with an inch or two to spare.
    ‘I can take that in,’ Molly says. She opens the cupboard door to display a full-length mirror.
    ‘It’s beautiful.’ I’m in awe.
    ‘What’s going on?’ Sam asks sleepily from the doorway. Then he spots me in my silvery array. ‘Hey, Lucy. Do you like it?’
    ‘I love it.’ I beam.
    ‘Thank Christ for that. Molly’s been fretting about it for weeks.’
     
    Sam and Molly are both at work this week so I have to entertain myself during the day. Contrary to most visitors’ expectations, the sun doesn’t always shine in Australia. Sydney is actually prone to some