That May weekend of the full moon was a turning point in my growing up, and not just for the events of Emma and I on that frosty Friday night. The Saturday afternoon saw me do the one thing many Australian teens do not long after turning eighteen: buying their first car. It might have only been a small three-door hatchback with a few too many kilometres on the clock for its age but it was in good condition and, as I pro...

  Affairs began to hit their stride between Emma and me after that Queen’s Birthday long weekend. We had spent much of the remainder of that weekend either in or around my bed: we made love a few more times, but much of the time was spent just cuddling up under my quilt. Eventually on the Monday I dropped her off at her mother’s house, our parting kisses taking even longer than ever. While her and her sister Amber’s livin...

A call on my mobile at about ten in the evening was how things would normally start. A withdrawn voice, possibly infused with tears, would ask a simple question: “Can I come over?” It would be the advisory that I should expect a girl and her bicycle at my window within the next twenty minutes. It had become something of a routine over the past few months… ---- I had first met Emma the previous year when she accompanied he...