The Idea of Perfection

Well, he said, and laughed a meaningless laugh. A moment extended itself into awkwardness. Well, he said again, and she said it too at the same moment. Their voices sounded loud together under the awning. She felt as if the whole of Karakarook, behind its windows, must be watching this event that had burst into their silent afternoon: two bodies hitting together, two people standing apologising. Douglas Cheeseman is the kind of divorced middle-aged man you'd never glance at twice, although he can tell you more than you'd ever want to know about bridges. Harley Savage, big, plain and uncompromising, knows she's a danger to herself and anyone else who tries to get too close. Why else would she have gone through three husbands? And for Karakarook, a dying country town that used to think it had a big future, tourists are its last desperate hope. The Bent Bridge is what brings them all together. Some of the townspeople think the tourists will love it, and Harley agrees. But Douglas Cheeseman is in Karakarook to tear it down and, well, it seems that things are about to become complicated.