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fucking funny that he had his naked arse in the air doing yoga for Jesus Christ in Mexico. I tried to snigger it back inside so he wouldn’t hear, and we had to hurry back into the kitchen before it all exploded out of me. We laughed for a moment, then had one of those looks you have sometimes with people who remind you we’re all really the same. I had one once in a service station near Brisbane. I had been to the toilet and when I tried to get out the sliding doors and back to the car they wouldn’t open, so I stood there and then kind of danced and jumped to get the doors’ attention and eventually they opened just a crack, and as I tried to sneak through they closed on me, trapping me with my elbows stuck out to keep myself from being crushed. I looked over and saw a Greek businessman paused mid-burger, watching me and smiling so widely, with barbeque sauce on his mouth, that he looked like my best friend in the world, and we had that moment where we really saw each other and laughed together.
    â€˜Coffee?’ Carousel pointed at the machine.
    â€˜That is the most stupid fucking coffee machine I have ever seen,’ I said. ‘Absolutely, I’ll have some.’
    â€˜It was in a shop down in the town. I don’t know how the fuck it got there, it is some sort of designer Italian thing, but I was in town one day and saw it in the window of the chemist where we get our weed, and I knew he’d never fucking sell it and it would sit there for a decade till it was dead from sun and sadness, so I bought the thing and spent the next two years figuring out how to use it. No instruction books in Mexico.’
    He fiddled with various knobs and levers, added some water through a spout up the top, and it started to hiss and bubble and then smell like heaven with wafts of caffeine steam that revived me instantly. Finally a thin stream of the brew tumbled into one of the rugged pottery mugs he put underneath it and he handed it to me ceremoniously. I opened the spaceship fridge and found a jug of thick milk. ‘From some sort of buffalo,’ he told me, and sloshed it in.
    It was magnificent in a way that went beyond my need for it, and it was thick with cream and fat droplets, and I loved it. I was licking the drop that ran down the side of my cup when Adolf walked in and caused me to spill it.
    â€˜Good morning Lulu and Mr Carousel. It is a beautiful and blessed day. Can I have some of that coffee?’
    Carousel raised an eyebrow and found some way to get more out of the machine. Adolf looked at me and smiled so sincerely that I had to smile back a bit, and the smiling silence quickly got ridiculous so I nodded and left for the other room. That time I took the donkey chair—he could have the mule—and drank my coffee as Chicco snored.
    â€˜I was thinking you might want to come with me to see the shrine today?’ Adolf asked, as he followed me in.
    â€˜Ah.’ I certainly didn’t, but had nothing else to do and no real reason not to. ‘I guess so. Are you sure you know where it is?’
    â€˜Not really, my directions led me here and since your grandfather is not familiar with theshrine I will have to go back to town and ask for more help. It’s not too far, maybe a one hour walk.’ He sipped his coffee delicately.
    â€˜I know, I walked it yesterday.’
    I wondered when he would ask why I was here. It hadn’t occurred to him that I had made up the grandfather bit, but I had the feeling he thought everyone in the world was sterling silver, and it made me feel guilty. I knew I would confess soon, but it sure wouldn’t be in front of Carousel who would find it funny, and then I had another thought. Was I allowed to stay another night or was I to be kicked out? I hadn’t really talked to Carousel at all, or resolved why he was hiding out in Mexico and if I could ever convince him to come clean to the world. I had originally planned to call the