After finishing watching the three last episodes of season one of Trinkets, while sipping on her mango orange juice and ordering herself some pizza, G's head no longer throbbed. She'd texted a little with Philippa, who was worse off that she was. She was too tired to go anywhere and she'd already finished her homework during the kid's nap the day before, hence it was beginning to seem like a refreshing idea to at least begin to prepare for the sale of Celeste's gowns.

There were eight dresses on the whole that she counted, beginning to open them one by one. The first one was a white fine-textured Givenchy, with a zipper front creating a deep V neckline, open back and a waterfall hem. The label said Riccardo Tischi. This was quite her style to be honest and as Celeste had said, right her size, so she really couldn't resist to put the dress on and look at herself in the full mirror that she had on her bedroom wall.

She pulled up her hair and turned on the lights, showing off the dress so she'd get the best photo, while keeping the background as neutral as possible. For once her dark and moody interior was good for something.

There was a long-sleeved but open back bright red Anatholy Vaccarello, a blue sleeveless Michel Kors, a gorgeous mustard colored Emilio Pucci that G even lacked the words to describe, a dramatic burgundy Elie Saab and what instantly became her favourite - a blue sleeveless mermaid dress by Atelier Versace. In addition there were two shorter cocktail dresses, a Oscar de la Renta black sheer-constructed dress with an embroidered fireworks truly makign the dress pop, and another colorful Zuhair Murad sequinned floral mini dress. The materials and detail on these dresses was exquisite. G had herself had a number of gorgeous dresses, but this was a completely different level - this was the MET gala, the Oscars, Vienna Opera Ball, Cannes Film Festival… oh she could go on, having grown up with her mother's love for all things glamorous.

Two hours later her phone held photos of all the dresses, varying with different lighting, angles and detail. She had to admit - trying on so many dresses was hard work. But still - it had been fun too, trying to imagine herself as wearing something like this to some event. But honestly, she was getting a little curious - why did Celeste have all of these and why was she selling them?

She regularly browsed auctions like this herself, though usually more for more casual wear, than gowns - there weren't exactly a lot of reasons for her to attend such events. She knew that to sell things like this, clearly not off the rack kind of gowns the more exclusive detail she could add to their description the better. Which events they'd been worn to and when? Who had worn them? Somehow the thought that Celeste could've actually been the one to be the original owner hadn't even crossed her mind. Maybe Celeste simply had inherited them or had a shopping addiction? The Celeste she'd always known was the mother of a toddler, who organized small-scale weddings, who usually wore wrap dresses and things from H&M.

While she knew she could easily call Celeste and ask, by that time it was already late and she really didn't feel like bothering her. Hence she uploaded one of the photos to Reverse Image Search and browsed the results. And about thirty results in there it was - some cancer fundraiser at Hospital Necker in Paris, 2009, worn by Odette Aubertin. She copied the location, date and name and didn't really focus on the face of the person wearing it. The name was beyond her time and she wasn't too interested in her to be frank. But as she accidentally zoomed on the picture in she was forced to face it. She looked a little like Celeste - maybe a sister? It couldn't really be her, couldn't it?

Finn had spent the past four days self-indulging. Archie's place in Noosa Heads was the kind of place where one went to forget about the grim day-to-day - it was clearly built as the ultimate bachelor pad, even though Archi had spent his entire childhood there before he knew anything about parties or women. It was walking distance to both the beach and the canals, offering easy access by Archie's bowrider. The place itself wasn't huge or very flash, the once trendy 80s pole home with a curved roof needed now a few interior updates, but it's location alone and their generosity when buying rounds of drinks at the local Riviera Lounge had ended up being quite enough to several gorgeous sheilas to join them for the after party. After socializing, they'd slept late, recuperated, hit the beach or taken the boat for some fishing. Later they'd barbecued whatever they'd caught, or bought, and repeated the same all over again. It was like old times, except now they had money, more skills, a lot more confidence and the assurance that they weren't breaking any laws.

While he'd enjoyed it for what it was - a kind of goodbye to the place and catching up with his old buddy, by the end of the Sunday night, he just didn't care for another repeat. He'd made some excuse, something concerning work, and packed up his surfboard and weekender bag onto his Jeep and headed off.

While he knew that the entire Queensland and North South Wales had been on high alert for bushfires, he'd really been out of the news loop for the entire weekend, having rarely even bothered to check his newsfeed. For this reason he was quite surprised to see large burnt areas by the side of the road, about half-way home, where just a couple of days ago had still been a lush forest. The bitter smell of soot and some parts of the earth still oozing smoke, filled his nostrils and he shut off the AC of the car, hoping it'd pass. He saw firemen cold trailing some parts by the side of the road. Clearly he'd missed something big - the remains of a house, or two, now visible through the burnt forest being of clear indication. People had lost homes, some perhaps even lives. It wasn't an easy thought to register. As he drove into a clearing and saw a little further ahead he could see the fire still burning in the distance on his right, a few smaller columns of smoke also visible ahead of him. He knew it was the driest spring in history for the area and that things were serious - but he really hadn't paid enough attention. Being safely tucked away in New York had done that to him - nothing severe like this had ever happened during the time he'd lived in New York. It had made him unwary. It felt like he'd had his head buried in sand or something, missing all of this.

He tried to put the thought aside - there was no point dwelling too much over something he had no control over, and he put on a playlist he hadn't listened to in a while, consisting of Winterbourne, Gin Wigmore and Stealers Wheel among others, the latter reminding them of the Life and Death Brigade road trips. It definitely was a good distraction, lifting his spirit a little. He missed those times - but it no longer was about the guys as nearly all of the guys had changed too. They had their lives together - ok, fine - maybe not entirely when it came to Colin. But still - the dynamic had shifted. They were friends and always would be, just not in the same way. It seemed that he was really the only one that was still figuring things out.

It was already quite late, and the sun was beginning to set, not that he saw a lot of the sun, the sky being covered in large clouds mixed with smoke, so all he really wanted to do was get back to his sister's. About half an hour in, however, a police officer stopped his vehicle on the road and advised him to turn around. He really needed no explanation, the sky ahead appearing bright orange, clearly an active burn site.

He only drove back a few miles, he pulled aside to the side of the road to think, considering his next plan. Finn recalled his sister Sylvie talking about a Forest Fire app, which he hadn't paid much attention to at the time, and he attempted to download it, but the transfer speed really wasn't that great where he was. He tried to recall the area and he thought he had a pretty good idea of where he was and knew an alternative route he could take to Brisbane. He had enough fuel, even water - so he really didn't think much of it, thinking that surely the night's sky was his helper in this case, the orange glow in the sky telling him where to go or not to go. There was no knowing how long this road block would last, and he really didn't feel like driving back to Noosa.

Finn drove back north about 5 miles, then nearly missed the left turn, he had remembered, in the dark. It was a small asphalt road but not in particularly good shape, and Finn appreciated the fact he had his Jeep.

He drove further, taking a few more turns and the road turned to gravel, but he knew it was the right road, now having gotten a little better reception on his phone and had brought up a map application while driving. A few miles in he turned right to a slightly wider road, but it didn't take long until he could smell smoke again, most likely because he was now downwind from the fire. It wasn't as bad as it had been before, but it was enough to make him cautious. The road made a few curves, making it difficult to see ahead, and he slowed his speed. Suddenly he saw a small grey hatchback car, safety lights blinking, it's hood popped.

He was a decent guy, the least he could do was to ask if they needed help.

He braked rapidly, pulled up beside the car and rolled down his window, getting a whiff of smoke into the car, making him cough for a moment.

"Are you alright?" Finn asked, not really seeing who was sitting in the driver's seat. It was dark now and he only really saw a form, likely female, with a t-shirt pulled up to her nose to protect her from the smoke.

The woman released her t-shirt for a moment, to speak.

"I already called for help," she replied, with a shaky voice. Clearly the situation was scary for her.

"Are you sure you want to stay here and wait? It might be a while this late," he added, having some experience in the matter, and especially all the way out there, with wind carrying smoke in their direction, in the darkness all alone, he didn't feel particularly good about her prospects. Besides, if the wind turned, bushfires could move quite rapidly as well.

"Could you tow the car?" she asked. "I don't have a rope," she added.

Finn put on his safety lights and came out of the car and began looking through his trunk - no rope. "No such luck, I'm afraid," he called out from the back of his car.

The woman seemed reluctant to come out of the car, and Finn couldn't really blame her, despite the situation - alone in the dark forest road with some stranger. Australia had a bad reputation when it came to this type of encounters. There were books written about these things and documentaries made. Finn just wasn't used to anyone fearing him. Anyone who knew him, knew he was harmless.

"But do you know what's wrong with the car - maybe it's something I could help you with?" Finn asked.

The women turned the ignition and absolutely nothing happened.

"Beats me," she replied.

"Well.. in that case the only thing I can offer is a ride, I'm heading to Brissy. But it's up to you," Finn shrugged, coughing little as another smoke cloud reached them. He could reattach a simple pipe or a cable, but when it came to electronics, ignition and anything that had to do with fuel, except an empty fuel tank, he really wasn't much use.

He sensed the woman was afraid of him but he really was more concerned about her safety than anything. But he was in no way going to attempt to try to convince her to ride with him - it was her choice.

"Wait...," she said, as he was about to get back into the driver's seat. The air was a little better inside.

"What?" he asked.

"You're not some creep who drives around small roads looking for victims, right?" she asked out front. Her accent was strange, and Finn wasn't quite able to pinpoint it - it had hints of Australian but there was definitely something else.

Finn laughed, correcting his reaction in a second wondering whether that actually had come off like a sociopath. He'd never ever had a single thought of hurting anyone, let alone someone needing assistance. "I'm sorry," he apologized for his laughter, "I tell you want - you take a picture and check my ID and send the information to one of your friends or something," he suggested, trying to defuse some fear.

"Oh, okay," she relented, the increasing scent of smoke really making her more and more inclined to take him up on his offer anyways. "My name is Charlie, Charlie Marquont ," she introduced herself. It was dark, hence Finn really didn't get a very good look at her, not like she did when she flashed a picture of him, blinding him for a second.

"And as you can see right here on my driver's licence - my name is Finn," he said, presenting his Australian driver's licence as his ID.

Charlie texted the information to someone, hastily.

Finn was about to get in the car when she asked, "Do you know, if I should leave my keys - I mean if the rental company shows up to tow it?"

"It's a rental?" Finn asked, sounding somewhat surprised and curious at the same time. Well, it certainly explained the car's unsuitability for the smaller roads in this region.

"Yeah," Charlie replied.

"Bring the key, they usually have spare. But text them you'll mail the key or something," he instructed, having in his lifetime left a number of rental cars in odd locations.

A few minutes later Charlie had moved her large blue backpack to the back of his Jeep.

Finn was already sitting on the driver's seat as she entered, the door light illuminating the car interior. It was the first time he got a decent look at her. She was dressed in a pair of mid-thigh denim shorts and some random, not too clean t-shirt, partly stained with soot and most likely sweat, and assessing by the glimpse he'd caught of her he would guess she was either late 20-s or early 30s. She was blonde, her hair pulled up into a slightly messy ponytail and a little on the curvier side, but kind of athletic at the same time. Form the brief glimpse he'd gotten of her, she was still a kind of mystery.

"I'm sorry, I'm a mess, it's been a long day," Charlie added apologetically.

"Ah...I'm not much better," he replied, not wanting her to think about it - sitting by the side of the road like that couldn't have been very pleasant.

He pushed on the gas pedal, jolting the Jeep from its place, the momentary acceleration clearing some of the air in the front of the car interior, making it easier to breathe.

They turned left again, to a road that actually had asphalt and was more in the open. Here the air seemed a little cleaner, allowing the two to breathe normally.

"So you're a backpacker or...?" Finn inquired, largely to kill time, on occasion keeping his eye on the map just to be sure. There were always tourists, backpackers - you name it - up and down the coast, the area having quite a draw.

"I guess that's one way to put it. I got a backpack, don't I?" Charlie replied cheekily.

Finn wasn't really sure what to say - she almost sounded like she didn't want to talk about it much, and he certainly wasn't going to push it. But what he appreciated most was that she wasn't trying to sweet-talk him or impress him. But then he scolded himself for even thinking that - he was perhaps too used to women hitting on him and out here in the middle of nowhere, all dusty, sweaty and smelling of smoke the thought really shouldn't have even crossed his mind.

"But no, I don't exactly fit that profile," she admitted. "But I am taking a year off, I've been working in plantations on and off, and I was just taking a few weeks to see some sights. Just coming back from the reef," she explained.

"Right," he replied, keeping his eyes on the road. "What did you need a break from, if you don't mind me asking," he inquired curiously.

"You know… I've found it better not to say. People just look at me with prejudice once I do. At this moment, I much rather prefer to be a backpacker or so-called 'simple worker'," Charlie replied, reaching for a bottle of water from her backpack. She took a large gulp of water, feeling a little dehydrated having not been sure when she was going to get help and had been saving her water, putting the bottle of water on the floor when she finished.

"Can I try to guess?" Finn asked, finding this puzzle rather entertaining.

"You can, but first - what's your story?" she insisted.

"That's fair. Right now... I'm visiting my family and friends for a few months," he added, deciding only to share a similar amount. He kind of liked this game of hiding his wealthy background and his job. Besides whenever he would explain that he lived in New York, he simply felt a rush of guilt. The past weeks of distractions had worked in the sense that he no longer thought of G like some lost love, he'd become more realistic on the number of ways that would've never worked and he was pretty sure it had been more about that friendship that he'd simply struggled to differentiate from something more. But maybe that was just a self preservation mechanism - but either way - it was working.

At that Charlie let out a deep laugh, realizing what he was doing.

"So can I guess now?" Finn asked.

"Sure, go ahead," she relented.

"A dentist?" he guessed, starting from the list of most hated jobs he could think of.

"Nope," Charlie shook her head, finding this rather amusing.

They continued to ask each other small questions, only going so much in depth as they themselves felt comfortable answering. Every now and again he would make another guess about her job. She wasn't a stock trader, a teacher, a tax auditor nor a programmer. She asked about his childhood pets, favourite band and favourite food while he asked her whether she surfed, which she did a little, and what her favourite place in the world was, hoping it would shed some light into where she was from, but it didn't, as she managed to reply to it only with adjectives and how the place made her feel, leaving out all the specifics.

They turned right at another crossing, but for what they saw - Finn quickly came to a halt. The orange glow in the sky perhaps a mile off the road they were to take, did not look good. The positive news was that the road they were taking was in a clearing, mostly paddocks and grassland on either side, but Finn didn't particularly recall how long that went on.

Finn pulled up his phone, checking whether the Forest Fire app had by now downloaded in the meanwhile. It had and based on that the road was in the clear, but the burn wasn't very far either.

"It's a little risky, I'd say," Finn explained, looking out through the back window, considering briefly if it might have been better to just go back. The way forward was definitely the fastest way to Brisbane. But fires were unpredictable, the wind was unpredictable and while he saw the lights of a fire chopper in the distance, he'd perhaps only seen a single car the entire time he'd been driving off the main road.

She looked at him a little hesitantly, clearly not being too acquainted with bushfires in general.

"It should be like half an hour this way and then, look," he showed her the app, gesturing at the larger highway that drove by the side of Lake Wivenhoe, all of which appeared to be in the clear zone.

"The wind at least seems to blow from the opposite direction," Charlie gestured at the wind symbol at the corner of the screen.

"So we go?" he asked, wanting to be sure he wasn't pressuring her into going. He would've been fine turning around, finding another route or, hell, going back to Noosa if needed by now. But they were just an hour and a half away from his sister's, and all he really felt like doing was taking a long shower to wash the stench of smoke off of him, which by now seemed to have infused in all of his pores.

"I'm ready for anything if you are," Charlie said, making Finn grin at her choice of words.

AN: The bushfires Finn is dealing with were very real at the end of 2019 in those regions, but where they are in this story are modified somewhat, and there might be some adjustments made to how sparesly populated that countryside where they are driving actually is, but so be it - some creative liberties taken. And in case the last line puzzles you - 'ready for anyting' translates to 'in omnia paratus' - or maybe this is too obvious gg trivia not really needing to be explained. I'll just leave this moment here for a dramatic pause and get on to writing what happens next :)

And most the dresses I described are real dresses - I can't really add links, but they should come up with the following keywords if you're interested in a visual: "haute kills atelier versace f/w 2009", "rooney mara white givenchy", "burgundy elie saab chiffon long sleeve 2017", "patricia clarkson michael kors cobalt", "mustard emilio pucci gown", "oscar de la renta black sheer fireworks" and "zuhair murad floral cocktail dress mini milan style".