Rona scraped the last of the minestrone she was having for dinner from around the inside of her bowl, and looked at the clock on the microwave. If there was one thing Miranda was diligent about (and actually, there were many more than one), it was making sure that that clock was always correct. It was closer to ten now than to nine; closer to midnight than not. They were late eaters. "One thing that's worrying me," Rona said to Eric, "it's almost winter now. Do you have any gigs lined up?"

"I'll have to speak to Steve" Eric said. Then, less optimistically: "Or Mal."

"It seems like this plan isn't very well thought through" Miranda observed.

"It's Steve's plan" Eric pointed out. He laughed. "Christ, that'd be right wouldn't it? Not even one day into winter and we've stuffed it up."

"Is it a gig each day," Rona asked, "or can you average it out? Can you plan no gig one day and two the next?"

"Christ, I don't know!" Eric said. "It's Steve's plan."

"I think Rona's suggestion was a good one" Miranda said. "With the secret gigs."

"Guerrilla gigs" Rona corrected her.

"Yeah."

"I'm pretty sure we'd get arrested for that" Eric said.

"Are you serious?"

Eric shrugged. "It's Australia. You can't do anything."

"Would you be ready to play a gig just like that?" Rona asked. "Quick set-up, no notice?"

"I think the band gets notice of a surprise gig" Eric pointed out.

"But would you be ready? Or would you have to rehearse?"

"We rehearse a lot" Eric said.

"I know" Rona said. She said the words heavily. "But would you be ready to go out and just play?"

Well, Eric thought, there's the crux of the issue. It was also starting to dawn on him that he might not get to go up to Queensland, to his boyfriend, for three months, if they were going to pull this thing off. His boyfriend might have to come down here instead, but then everyone ...

He finished his dinner. His stomach yowled silently: it was too late to be eating. "Maybe?" he said, as if Rona might know the answer better than he.