I open the door for her, she likes that. We reverse out of my driveway through the rain. I wait for her to say something. She says how she loves Terrigal which is where we are going. I don’t like Terrigal. Well, that’s not true. I like the bay that faces the sun in winter and the lagoon with its SUPs and the views that overlook the ocean. But i don’t like the congestion on the promenade with all the cars crawling around trying to find a park and all the shop owners trying to sell you things you don’t need. I don’t like how all the people in the café’s size up each other for the opportunity to make a dollar. I don’t like how Terrigal people compare themselves with their friends – how they look, how much money they make and who their partner is. Emm starts talking about her friend Liz. I have never met Liz. She has been Emm’s mentor for years. She is an optician and has started a business. She can’t wait to meet me, or so Emm says. You could have a pizza delivered in the time it takes to drive to Terrigal. We cross the bridge over the lagoon. We pass joggers and people walking their dogs. I find a parking spot. I want to take the umbrella but Emm says no we won’t need it. We try to cross the road but there is a fence on the other side. We have to go to the next set of lights and wait, then cross and back-track to the café. Emm and Liz hug. We place our orders at the counter. Liz takes us to the table. There’s Paul the developer, a girl called Maddie who helps Liz with her business and a guy called John who looks like he is getting ready to finish up and go out and hustle. I ask Paul about his projects. He has real-estate developments along the coast. I tell him I am a web developer. He tells me he hates computers. But he says he is addicted to his phone. I ask him what he likes about his phone. The porn he says. I ask Liz about her business. Liz tells me that she helps people with eyes that dry out. There is this machine that warms the eyes and uses pressure to release the glands. She tells me the machine can also be used to rejuvenate skin. She used it on Emm’s face a week ago and asks me whether I have noticed a change to Emm’s face. I can’t tell. Maddie is helping her with the marketing. Maddie likes to travel. Liz says they have to express fluid from the ducts in the eye. Maddie says it’s like Dr Pimple Popper and giggles. Paul says he needs the machine because his eyes dry out watching porn. Paul’s partner used to be a model and a dancer. She was even invited to be part of Moulin Rouge, but declined. Paul has a photo of her as the backdrop on his phone. Their daughter is studying music, dance and ballet in Newcastle. She studies and practices and also works evenings. John excuses himself from the table and goes off to hustle. It starts raining and I wish I had brought the umbrella. Emm orders a muffin to share. Paul leaves to monitor the money coming in from his real-estate developments, and to watch porn. Maddie leaves to go to the gym and to try to find a boyfriend. Emm talks with Liz. Then Liz has to go. The rain stops and I walk back to the car with Emm. I’m glad to get out of there. But I liked Paul and Liz. And I didn’t mind Maddie. Emm says Paul likes me, he told her I’m a keeper. And Liz does too. I couldn’t work out John. So that’s how it goes. You all meet at a café and you like each other. On the drive home I ask Emm how she met Liz. She tells me it was on RedHotPie. Liz and her lover were looking to make a threesome and found Emm. Turns out Emm and Liz’s lover fell for each other and dated for a while. Somehow Liz and Emm stayed friends through it all. They slept with each other, though they prefer men. I like airplanes. I am part owner of an airplane with a propeller and seating for four. I like the structure and discipline around flying. I like preparing and executing a plan for the flight. I like the cables that drive the ailerons and rudder and flaps, the engine that drives the propeller, the gauges that show your height and speed and direction and temperatures and pressures. I like tuning the radios so that I can communicate with air traffic control and with other airplanes. I like setting the navigation to pick up waypoints via GPS and beacons on the ground. I like lining up with the runway and taking off and landing. Emm and I get home. I pull back the sheets. We climb in and make love. The rain and the people and the congestion and the comparisons and the confusions are all left behind. We don’t talk. We don’t cry. We explore. We feel. We are. The sun is hidden by the clouds, the stars are hidden by the sun, consciousness is hidden by the stars. We make love. There is chaos. There is envy. There is despair. There is competition. But there is also tenderness and compassion and beauty. Love is it. That’s all.