Free The Happiness Show by Catherine Deveny Page A

let them fall .’
    â€˜Too little too late, mate.’ And Tom passed the bottle to Lizzie. She skolled and looked at him. Was it actually possible that she was getting better looking?
    â€˜Where were we?’
    â€˜Here, I think.’
    And Tom finally leant over, put his hand on her neck and kissed her on the lips. He kissed her and she kissed him back for a long, long time as they hurtled through Russia in the middle of the night. Lizzie dropped the bottle to the floor. They were both vibrating, shaking with the relief of it all, but each thought the other was shivering in the cold. It was as if there was something wet and warm running through their veins and now it was flowing between them and for a second Tom thought to himself, I could do this forever. When they paused for breath, Lizzie looked at him and glowed.
    â€˜ One of them’s off her food— ’
    â€˜ And the other one’s off his head—’
    â€˜ And both of them are off down the boozer— ’
    â€˜ To … think … of … Oh, shit, where’s the bottle?’
    The next morning, when they woke on Lizzie’s bunk, the Dutch guy and the frat boy were elsewhere. They climbed down and Tom stood behind Lizzie and put his arms around her. He smelt her neck and she leant back into him as they watched the Gobi Desert go by.
    â€˜Where are we?’
    â€˜In the middle of nowhere. Actually, it looks like the Nullarbor.’ Lizzie looked up at Tom and he kissed her forehead. ‘The middle of nowhere always looks the same, no matter where you are.’
    At that very moment, a dozen Mongolian horsemen dressed in traditional clothes rode past in the opposite direction.
    Tom couldn’t remember ever being this happy before.

 
CHAPTER 9
    By the time Lizzie came back, Marks or Sparks was dressed and Lizzie had straightened herself up, splashed water on her face and nicked back into the spare room to reapply her lipstick.
    â€˜Fuck, I thought you were in Boston.’
    â€˜I only stayed there six months. It didn’t work out. I thought you were in Australia.’
    â€˜I am. I’m here for a BBC thing, with Keith.’
    They looked at each other.
    â€˜And who’s this?’ Lizzie said, talking the baby’s hand.
    â€˜Not sure. Marcus or Spensley.’
    â€˜Oh, one of the twins. I thought he was yours. Seen one, seen ’em all. Jetlag.’
    â€˜Oh, no. He could be my godson, though. I’m godfather of one of them and I’m afraid I can’t tell them apart.’
    â€˜So, no kids?’
    â€˜Oh, yes. One. Celia. She’s six.’
    â€˜So you’re married?’
    â€˜Yeah. You?’
    â€˜Me? Two kids, a girl and a boy.’
    â€˜Are they with you?’
    â€˜No, they’re at home with Jim, their father.’
    â€˜So you’re not …’
    â€˜Oh, sorry, yes, we are. I mean, we’re together, but we’re not married. We’re what old-fashioned people call de factos. How do you know Keith, anyway?’
    â€˜He’s my brother-in-law. Married my wife’s sister.’
    â€˜So your wife is here?’
    â€˜She was. She left about twenty minutes ago. She had to take Celia to a birthday party.’
    There was silence. And they both sparkled.
    â€˜God, it’s great to see you, Lizzie. Let’s go downstairs and get a drink.’
    Â 
    Tom and Lizzie grabbed a Heineken each and holed themselves up in a corner.
    â€˜ Being John Malkovich was great but I loved Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind . Fucking brilliant.’
    â€˜You reckon? I thought it was a great script fucked up in the edit.’
    â€˜Seriously, Lizzie?’
    â€˜Nah, I heard a mate of mine who works in film say it and I thought it sounded like I knew what I was talking about. I haven’t seen it. But you know that movie Troy ? There was a review in one of the Australian papers that said, “Wooden horse, wooden actors,