Things had been getting tense between Rona and Miranda, needless hostilities bristling in the corners of rooms and detonating like landmines at the slightest misstep from either of them, so when the prospective housemate - the one Rona had told Brent about - turned out to be awful in his interview, it actually came as a relief.

Living too much in each-other's pockets had almost become too much for Rona and Miranda, two people in a house could so easily and quickly flicker between bonhomie and enmity, so when they opened a bottle of New Zealand wine which was excess from the café Miranda worked at - and which up until that point Miranda had been planning to drink by herself - it was a great relief to be able to sit down and laugh together about 'Chad from the city'.

"Did you notice how he kept calling you different names!" Miranda laughed.

"Roma."

"Ro-Ro."

"Rowena."

"I mean god, if he's got that kind of memory no wonder the financial system's gone down the gurgler!"

"Do you reckon he really works in finance?" Rona asked.

"I reckon he might supply a few people who do" Miranda suggested, and they both made exaggerated snorting sounds with their noses.

"And the way he kept looking down your top!" Rona exclaimed.

"Oh my god, what a sleaze."

"And I mean, look at what you're wearing" Rona said, gesturing. "It's not like you've got 'em on display there."

"He kept craning his neck! I thought for a while that maybe I'd spilled something on myself."

"Or maybe there was some kind of exotic butterfly flapping around in your bra."

"So unsubtle. Don't guys realise?"

"I reckon they can't help it" Rona said. "Some of 'em, anyway."

Miranda laughed as she drank her wine. "I just wanted to grab him by the neck and turn his collar down. I don't think I've ever actually seen anyone wearing a popped collar under a suit-jacket."

"If you had grabbed him he probably would've thought he was gonna get lucky" Rona said. "He didn't get your name wrong."

"I don't think I even had a name, as far as he was concerned. Just tits." She shook her head. "Fuck, we're never gonna find a housemate."

"Yeah, but I'm starting to think that might not be a bad thing, given what's out there."

"Amen to that" Miranda said, and she raised her glass.