‘Just like that. You’ll let me have it. A plane worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.’
‘The plane is yours because you love it, and I love you. That is reason enough for me.’
‘Well … gosh,’ she said.
‘That’s all you have to say? Gosh?’
‘How would I know what to say? I’ve never been in love before.’
‘Well,’ he said, ‘I think it’s traditional to bestow a token of your affection on your lover’s lips.’
She smiled. ‘Just his lips?’
He chuckled. ‘Anywhere you can reach.’
Sometime later, after tokens and lips and the confines of a seventyyear-old cockpit had been thoroughly tested, Joey tucked his hand into Kirsty’s as they picked their way down the slippery rocks back to the road.
A bored-looking Hogey was leaning up against the tray of his ute, chewing at a piece of straw. He eyed their clutching hands and gave Joey a wink. ‘About bloody time, son.’