"So how've you been?" Catherine asked Sacha. It seemed like a slightly odd question to Sacha: she'd only met Catherine once before, not very long ago, and had barely spoken a word to her; yet anybody listening in would think from tone of Catherine's voice that they were old friends.

"I've been fine, I guess" Sacha answered.

"Great!" Catherine beamed, and that seemed to settle the matter. She lapsed back into silence until Brent returned.

In fact, the whole group lapsed into silence. Sacha couldn't help but notice it: as soon as Catherine had arrived and especially once Brent had gone to the bar, the chatter that usually accompanied the opening of a bottle of wine had suddenly fallen still. Sacha for her part didn't say anything: she was nervous about saying the wrong thing. She glanced around the table they were all seated at: Rona looked sullen; Phuong just looked uncomfortable, though poised as ever. Sacha wondered how she pulled that off. Phuong suddenly caught Sacha's eye. "What are you thinking, Sacha?" she asked.

Sacha pursed her lips in thought. "I'm thinking it's a very feminine group we've got here" she lied.

Phuong laughed, which lightened the mood a little. "Yes, where are all the boys?" she asked rhetorically.

"Well I know where mine is" answered Catherine, smiling at Sacha in that same strangely familiar manner. Rona thought to herself: I wonder where mine is? - but she didn't dare say it out loud, and chastised herself for the thought immediately upon its completion.

Brent came back to the table, a second bottle of wine and some spare glasses clutched delicately in his left hand. He put his right hand lovingly on Catherine's head and kissed her on the temple, simultaneously placing the bottle and the glasses one-by-one on the table. "Got a Cab-Sav instead" he said. "That cool with everyone?"

Everyone answered inthe affirmative (though with some indifference on Rona's part - she made no claims to being any kind of wine expert and really couldn't tell the difference between one variety and another). Brent poured himself and Catherine a glass each from the new bottle, although there was still some of the Merlot left. "Oh!" Phuong suddenly interjected. "Everyone look! They're about to start." They all looked up towards the stage, where Eric and Mal were watching Steve attentively as he stepped up to the microphone.

"Hi everyone" he said, his baritone voice resonating throughout the still mostly empty room. "We're the TerrorFractals -" (Sacha rolled her eyes at the name, and noticed that the line-up had changed from the last time she'd seen them) "- and it's a pleasure to be with you tonight." Then Steve and Mal looked back to Eric, who counted them in, and the music began.

It was loud, but the mix was bad and the vocals were unintelligible beneath the guitar, bass and drums. Nonetheless, Catherine grinned enthusiastically and leaned in towards Brent: "They're really good!" she shouted, ensuring that she could be heard over the music. Brent smiled back, and nodded, but didn't say anything. He spotted Alain at the cigarette machine on the other side of the bar, and pointed this out to Rona. Rona nodded to confirm that she'd seen him. The song finished and there was a polite round of applause from the few people in the bar. Brent sat up straight as if it might help him to be heard, and cupped his hands to his mouth: "Hey, Alain!"

Alain waved, made an inquisitive motion with his hand which none of them understood but which apparently had something to do with drinking, and strolled over. He grinned at them cheekily.

"What up?" asked Rona.

"I just saw Hannah get off the tram a minute ago. You guys are in for a surprise" he said, widening his eyes suggestively.

Sure enough, Hannah walked in through the door even as he finished speaking. But as soon as she was inside and had taken off her coat, she turned and handed it to a young woman with long red hair who was following her obediently. "Who the hell's that?" asked Rona.