Suddenly Miranda couldn't help laughing.

"What?" Rona asked, defensively, hopefully.

Miranda looked at Rona and her eyes were gleaming with warmth. "You're a funny one, Rona" she said. "I can tell you want to say something."

"What?" Rona said again. "What would I want to say?"

"I don't know!" Miranda said. "That's why it's in your head." She narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. "But you've got that look about you."

"I don't know what you mean" Rona said, even though this was the opportunity she'd been waiting for.

Miranda tapped the fingers of her right hand on the knuckles of her left, the way she did when she was thinking about something in earnest. "It started when we started talking about Eric" she said.

"What started?" Rona asked.

"That look. That you've got."

"I don't have a look."

"You've got something."

"You're imagining it" Rona said desperately, realising now that each word she said, maddeningly, incredibly, was taking her further away from the conversation she actually wanted to have with Miranda.

"I don't think I am" Miranda teased. "When you're trying to hide something you start denying it."

Rona threw her hands up in exasperation. "Well how am I supposed to defend myself against that!"

"You're not" Miranda grinned. "That's the beauty of it." She stopped tapping, and stopped talking; almost stopped breathing. "Oh my god! Rona!"

"What? What have I done now?"

"You've got a crush on Eric!"

"What!" Rona was so astonished that all she could say was: "No I don't! You do!"

They both looked at each other in surprise. Eventually Miranda said: "But how could I? He has a girlfriend!"

"No way!" Rona gasped. "Where?" But she realised before Miranda said it: "What, Queensland?"

Miranda nodded.

"Holy shit" Rona said. "That does make sense."