The Bit In Between by Claire Varley Page A

than trying to explain that she had come here with her boyfriend, who was writing a novel. That explanation always prompted more questions, such as were they married, why not, would they get married and what did their parents think about all this?
    Her answer seemed to satisfy the young man.
    â€˜Mi friend with wanfala Australian girl before,’ he said.
    Alison knew he meant friend in the same way that Oliver’s mother had introduced her to everyone at his ­yiayia’s funeral as Oliver’s ‘friend’.
    â€˜Hem work with an NGO. Mi work with same NGO before mi drivem taxi.’
    â€˜What happened?’ Alison asked.
    The young man blinked. ‘She had to go home. She said she’d come back one day.’
    They both let this last part hang in the air, untouched and unbelieved, until it faded away out of existence.
    In the post office car park Alison paid the young man and paused. She wanted to say something, but there wasn’t really anything she could say, so she offered an awkward ‘tagio’ and left the cab. She watched him drive away.

    Moses had worked for one of the biggest NGOs in the Solomon Islands as a driver and mechanic. The work was relatively easy, the pay was all right and he got to spend a lot of time staring at Jessica, the Australian volunteer who smiled at everyone and sometimes baked cakes for the entire office. One day when he was filling in his fuel log, Moses noticed that Jessica was staring at him, and later that day the piece of cake she saved for him was by far the biggest of all the slices. Moses and Jessica started what was at first an awkward but then wonderful friendship and made plans for a future full of adventure. Then Jessica’s contract had ended and she couldn’t get it extended. So she and Moses cried together and promised each other things that they both knew would never happen and then Jessica flew back to her homeland. The other expats working at the NGO felt sorry for Moses and told him that Jessica had used him, but Moses didn’t say anything because it wasn’t their business and they didn’t know anything. Not long after, Moses quit his NGO job and started driving his own taxi, which gave him more freedom because he could choose his own hours and have lunch whenever he wanted. And every time a missus flagged him down, a small, ­unrealistic part of him hoped it would be the one person he knew it never would be.
    When Alison returned home Oliver looked considerably more cheerful.
    â€˜How many pages?’ she asked.
    â€˜Two.’ He gave her a smug look then glanced at the parcel under her arm.
    â€˜From your mother,’ Alison said, and Oliver’s face contorted in a look of suspicion.
    â€˜What impractical thing has she sent this time?’
    Last week Oliver’s mother had sent them three packs of scented baby wipes. Alison tore open the box and grinned, then held up a tea towel, two rolls of toilet paper and something that claimed to be an ‘egg peeler’. Oliver stared at the toilet paper. ‘What does she think we’ve been using for the past couple of weeks?’
    Alison glanced in the box. ‘There’s a letter too.’
    She extracted the folded letter and a photo fell out. Oliver picked it up. It was a profile shot of a beautiful young woman hugging a fluffy dog. Oliver turned it over.
    â€˜Lexi’s boyfriend left her to study bees in the Amazon, and her mother says she’s single now.’
    Written on the back in pen was a phone number and an email address accompanied by a playful love heart.
    Alison’s mouth dropped open. ‘Wow.’
    Oliver looked at the letter. ‘It’s addressed to both of us,’ he said.
    â€˜Wow.’
    â€˜I know.’
    â€˜Wow.’ Alison grinned. ‘I wonder when your mum will stop hating me?’
    Oliver didn’t say anything.
    â€˜Maybe at our wedding?’ Alison joked. ‘Or my