Lev Lafayette's journal

Late last week my dear friend Lara and I purchased an apartment in Darwin. Or, to be more accurate, we paid the deposit, signed the contract and will be receiving a bank loan. It's large, modern, and centrally located, with wonderful views over the Fisherman's Wharf and harbour to the National Park. It's very close to where Lara used to live and where somehow I helped her move in twice, despite living almost 3,800km away. To think that it was only several weeks ago that Lara was featured on the ABC news on rental issues in Darwin as she and her housemate were forced out of their apartment by a questionable real-estate agent whose management of a mould issue left a lot to be desired. Lara had future funds pending and the ability to pay, but time was of the essence. Plus, a loan application from a single person for such a place was tricky at best. My offer to help with the deposit and to put myself down on the application was graciously approved ("with complete astonishment" is probably a fair addition).

It is inevitable in such circumstances that I must sing Lara's praises. We met on a COVID-era cocktail group in 2020 where she developed a powerful drink named "The Brett Sutton". Due to both past and current work requirements, I found myself able to send the recipe to the former Victorian Chief Health Officer. When a visitation became possible, we tested the drink to some excess and determined it could probably wipe out anything (including us). But it was also a very timely meeting of minds; I was in a very dark place, going through a very tumultuous on-again, off-again relationship with a person whom Lara knew all too well, and she was able to give me great insight into how current behaviour correlated with past behaviour. Far from the only person who helped me through those days, she accepted me into her life with both sympathy and a strong sense of ethics. Importantly, this included a mutual acknowledgement of our own failings with a sense of contriteness and remorse when such failures occur. I do wish more people showed that.

Lara is an incredibly stylish woman; she carries herself like a well-dressed rogue pixie with an adorable dwarf rabbit and her beautiful red convertible. She lives with almost spartan modern furnishings, but ever-questing for the best quality culinary delights. Our politics are quite compatible (she's a green and I'm a red) with a notable lack of partisanship. We have both engaged in numerous visits to special events at galleries and museums, and we have taken interstate and international holidays together. In recent months, I have also had the opportunity to meet her family and close family friends who have accepted me into the fold. Most importantly, through our many deep and extended conversations and activities, I find myself in a position where I trust her sense of loyalty and responsibility completely. Whilst utterly requisite in financial situations like this, it also speaks volumes of her character. I am so lucky to have Lara in my life as are all who know her. I will forever recall with great fondness after our first meeting that I declared, like Captain Louis Renault and Rick Blaine, "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship".