Christmas, her birthday celebrations and those of her much younger sister put family pressure on Shelley to delay. She spent the summer in Melbourne thinking it might be her last as a single woman. Now she was due to spend a fortnight in London, seeing the sights with Alec. Most of her friends were married but had travelled widely before settling down. She felt that at thirty she had not experienced enough of life. Apart from a trip to New Zealand with her family she had never been overseas. She took extra leave from the University in order to travel the long way around and spend a few days in Perth before taking a flight via South Africa. Shelley spent a pleasant interlude in Perth. The weekend with Petri allowed the two friends to catch up on each other’s news, though Petri found it difficult to keep his emotions hidden. Apart from discussing the forthcoming wedding, Petri arranged a concert evening so the two could share their common interest in music. At a coffee house after the concert they enjoyed a heated discussion about Schubert’s influence on the development of classical music.
