Oberon set down the towel that he had used to wipe down the water from his body and then drew Rhonda in a loose embrace as he focused his mind on speaking the truth on seeking the best path towards understanding. He rested his forehead lightly on hers and almost like he needed their minds to meet.“You have a family,” he started,” It may be dysfunctional but you have met every single member of it. You know what they are like. You know which cousins you like and which you hate. You know where they come from and you know what they can do. You can mix both freely with them, both on your mother’s side and on your father’s side.”Her shoulders pulled back, muscle tensing, whether in impatience or resistance he could not tell but she was in tune with this talk about her family.“That’s not to say that you were not alone, Rhonda. I know

 Oberon had planned to give this party before they left for Bolivia, its purpose to publicly celebrate their marriage which he still felt was the important thing to do. Their happiness together, he declared, would confound everyone and make it a scintillating affair, all the guests, glittering madly around them and trying to shine lights on cracks in their relationship and forced to concede failure because there were none.And that was certainly happening tonight, thought Rhonda, secretly amused by some of the outrageous questions that had been tossed at her and Oberon tonight as they stood arm in arm, greeting and chatting up with the guests who were rolling up despite the short notice. The whole A-list of Sydney society was agog with discussion to assess the newly married couple and how on earth had they been able to buy the place at Piper point as a family home.Besides, people generally wished them