Arthur was just going out the door. It was 6pm and he was heading to the Red Lion for dinner on his own. He had not seen Martin all afternoon and had not seen Natalie at all that day or the day before.

His mobile rang. ‘Hi Arthur.’ It was Tracey. Arthur froze. He did not answer immediately.

‘Arthur, are you there?’

Still no answer.

‘Do I have the right number for Arthur Fromm?’ was the inquiry.

‘Hi Tracey, sorry, you caught me by surprise,’ he finally managed to say.

‘Arthur, hi. Let me get to the point. Martin left a message that he needed to see me. Did not say exactly what it was about, but mentioned doing another interview. I rang him back but got the machine. Do you have any idea what this is all about?’

‘No Tracey. He said nothing to me. I saw him at work this morning, but haven’t seen him all afternoon. No, I’ve got no idea.’

‘Okay, Arthur. Thanks. I thought you might know. I guess Martin will call back when he gets my message.’

‘I’m sure he will, Tracey. If I see him I will tell him you called.’

Arthur was about to say good-bye and hang up when Tracey said, ‘I don’t suppose it would be of any interest to you to know that I’m in Eden right now? Have you had dinner yet? I’m starving, we could eat together. I’ll pay.’

Arthur’s mind was racing. He knew what he wanted to say, but was it what he should say? To hell with it, he thought.

‘That would be nice, Tracey. You in fact just caught me half way out the door. I’m heading off to the Red Lion. We can meet there in fifteen minutes. Where are you?’

‘I’m in the car, just arrived in High Street. I’ll park somewhere and meet you there.’

Tracey had arrived before him and as he entered he saw her sitting at a table in the bistro. The waiter was hovering over her, presumably asking whether she wanted a drink.

‘Hi Arthur,’ Tracey said as he approached. She stood up, leant forwards and gave him a peck on the cheek. More of a moist kiss than a peck, really. Arthur felt a stirring down below. Control yourself, he thought. She’s just being friendly.

He sat down opposite Tracey. The waiter was still there. Arthur ordered a Long Island Ice Tea (with Diet Coke) for Tracey and a Bowmore for himself.

‘Nice to see you again, Tracey. It really is. I missed you the last time you were in town.’

‘Yes, I was in and out very quickly. Had to shoot an interview and get it to air in a real hurry.’

‘Did Martin ask you to come to Eden to talk to him?’ Arthur asked. ‘Must be important.’

‘No, coming was my idea. It did sound important and I thought better to do it face to face. But the real reason was that I wanted to see you.’

Tracey let that last sentence hang there and waited for a reply. If Arthur had been surprised by her earlier phone call, he was completely flabbergasted by what she had just said. Tracey said nothing and continued to wait. Arthur realised that he would have to respond pretty soon.

‘Tracey, I will be honest. I don’t know how to respond to what you’ve just said. You made it quite clear that there was nothing between us, at least from your side, and now this. How do you expect me to react?’

‘Arthur, I realise I have been a real cunt. Sorry for the language, but I mean it. After that first interview I got caught up in the hype, the fame and the work. I really was flat out. I did not want anything to get in the way of all that. I behaved badly to you, I know that. It’s probably too late, but I apologise. I miss you, Arthur.’

And then in a whisper ‘my cunt misses you too.’

Arthur looked around and saw that no one had heard that last sentence. What had earlier began as a stirring has transformed itself into a full blown, painful erection.

He blurted out. ‘Tracey, I’ve missed you too. You’ve no idea how much. Tracey, I love you. So please, don’t say anything to me that you don’t mean.’

‘I mean it Arthur. I’ve missed you. I was so swept up in the work and the fame, I think I forgot what was really important to me. I don’t know how it happened and to be honest, you are nothing at all like the man I ever pictured myself being with. But Arthur, I love you too.’

She leaned across the table to him and they kissed. The drinks had just been sat down in front of them. Arthur pulled out a $50 note from his wallet, put it on the table. He stood up and said to Tracey, ‘come on, let’s go. I’m not hungry anymore, at least not for bistro food.’

Half an hour later they were both naked in Arthur’s bed. Tracey was on top of him, her torso gyrating and her animal like sounds filling the room. It went on for forty minutes after which they both fell into a deep sleep. As he was drifting off to sleep, Arthur vaguely recalled that the house was dark when they arrived. Martin and Natalie were still not home.

At 5.15 the next morning, Arthur went into the kitchen and made himself a coffee.

‘Good morning, Arthur,’ said Martin who was sitting at the kitchen table sipping his coffee.

‘A bit noisy last night, Arthur. Was that Tracey, by any chance?’

Arthur blushed. ‘Yes, it was Martin. Let me explain.’

But Martin interrupted. ‘No explanation necessary, Arthur. It’s actually quite opportune. I need to talk to Tracey.’

‘Yes I know,’ Arthur said. ‘That’s why she came. She got your message.’

‘Arthur, do me a favour. Will you do the run this morning? I really need to talk to Tracey as soon as she wakes up.’

‘No problem Martin. I’ll be off in a couple of minutes.’

Arthur had his coffee standing up. He was about to leave. ‘Martin, by the way, is Natalie okay? I haven’t seen her for a couple of days.’

‘She’s fine. I forgot to tell you. Her aunt is sick. Natalie has gone to Melbourne for a few days to be with her. She will be back tomorrow or the next day at the latest.’

‘Okay. See you later. I’m sure Tracey will be up soon. She is a bit intrigued by your request. Anything you want to tell me?’

‘Later Arthur. Hurry up. You’ll be late. I’ll talk to you when you come back.’ And with that Arthur left.