Chapter 16

Thomas met Julian and Larissa at a farm gate on a back road near Sale. He’d gone in earlier that day with Jane on Jane’s dad’s tractor, and then he’d come back for them. They loaded all their gear on the tray on the back of the tractor – an ice box, a box of food, their swag, camping seats, a bag of personal stuff, and Julian’s surfboard, and then they stood on the tray, and Thomas drove them across the farm to Jane’s family’s favourite little camping spot. Larissa agreed: no normal four wheel drive could negotiate the two impossible creek crossings that Thomas very carefully guided the tractor through; not only was this spot on private land – a family friend – it was just about impossible to get to, and no one else knew about it but the farmer, and Jane’s family.

Larissa jumped off the tractor and hugged Jane deeply. And laughed; Jane was already just wearing a skimpy bikini bottom and a hat. The spot was a little grassy and sandy glade with the ocean immediately over a sand dune behind them. Jane enthusiastically showed them the beach – just part of the long endless stretch of beach along this part of the shore, except that Thomas said that there was a rideable break at mid-tide out in front, courtesy of some rocks that were visible at low tide. On the other side, away from the camp, they’d set up a sun shower and a little pit toilet with a spade: Thomas had already dug the trench, and you squatted over it, and then covered your bit over.

Julian set up the swag in the glade while Larissa merged their food into Jane’s food and ice boxes. While she was doing that, she noticed a small dog poking its head out of Thomas’ swag: this must be Persephone. Persephone was very timid, but Larissa was pretty good with dogs indeed now, and only took a few minutes to get Persephone in her lap. As Thomas had said, she was obviously abused, and bent, just like her own dog had been. And she was terrified by Julian: clearly, her abuser had been male, and Larissa decided that one of her projects was to have the poor little thing comfortable with Julian by the end of the holiday.

When they were set up and she’d made friends with Persephone, Jane said, ‘Tomorrow will be a bit windy and cool, and then the rest of the weekend will be lovely. So let’s get our gear off and go for a swim now.” Larissa smiled, and they all stripped and went for a swim in the sea and played around body surfing in the break. After that, Jane and Larissa used the shower to rinse their hair, and they sat in warm afternoon sun planning and talking and very happy.

“Dad and mum are going drop in on us tomorrow evening to top up our fresh water and have dinner with us,” Jane said. “They’ll have to leave before sunset to make it back while there’s still any light.”

“Great,” Julian said, “I’m really looking forward to meeting them, Larissa’s told me great things about your family. And Mum and Dad liked them too. Do we need to put any clothing on?” he asked, since none of them had bothered with clothing after their swim.

“No,” Jane said, “they’ve been using this spot since they were first married, and all my family have, and this is what it’s for. We often came here when I was a kid, and skinny-dipped in the ocean, though we didn’t hang around naked like this so much. Almost no chance anyone will see us, though sometimes some mad trekker walks up the beach, and occasionally they decide to follow the footprints to see what’s here, but whoever being naked has never been a problem. But tomorrow might be too cool to be naked. Thomas and I were thinking that tomorrow we could walk along the beach a few miles to where you can see a shipwreck.” Yeah, Julian and Larissa were in for that – sounded great.

Later in the afternoon, it was mid-tide and Julian and Thomas went surfing in their wetsuits while Jane and Larissa sat on the beach with Persephone and watched, and talked, and took photos, including some selfies, even one that went down to their waists. Eventually the combination of the reducing light, falling tide, and cooling temperature got the better of the guys, and they came in to find Jane and Larissa hugging with a towel wrapped around them for warmth. “Oh, don’t be sorry,” Larissa said, “Jane and I are very comfortable here, and now you’re going to make us dinner!”

The guys laughed, but Thomas did make dinner, and it was very nice. After dinner, the girls put bikini bottoms and hoodies on, and tidied up, while Thomas and Julian got the fire going, and they sat around it talking and singing – Thomas had brought his guitar; Larissa had forgotten he played it. Then Thomas talked about how frustrating it was to be sitting around the fire without a tinny in hand. One of a number of things he did that were tied to alcohol consumption in his experience, and it was a challenge for him. They all agreed; sometimes that was a real challenge, and they reminded themselves again why they had agreed not to drink, and they took turns talking about coping strategies. Then, finally, of course, the subject of the blowjob deal came up properly, and they told each other the stories of doing it again, and then Julian laughed and told them about Larissa getting her tits out in the pub for Phil, so she pulled her hoodie up for Thomas as a joke. Not for long though – it just wasn’t quite warm enough for that.

They stayed up till midnight, to see the new year in, and then they all kissed, and wondered what the new year would bring, both in the wider world and in their own lives. Such a lot of change in their own lives in the year that had gone, and who knew what the coming year would bring?

When it came time for bed, Larissa had planned on doing Julian in the gazebo, not the swag, but she hadn’t counted on the mozzies, so she had to content herself with them taking turns going down on each other while cuddled up tightly in the swag. She could hear Jane and Thomas doing the same in their swag right next to them, and then they could talk to each other as if they were in the same bed. Almost as good as sleeping cozy.

The next morning, the guys were up early for surfing, and Larissa dared Jane to run along the beach naked. To Jane’s relief, and also disappointment, they didn’t see anyone else on the beach while they were doing that, but Thomas and Julian had certainly noticed, and when they finished surfing, they declared that sex came before breakfast – done side by side under the gazebo, like proper friends, Jane said. The wind had picked up after breakfast, so they got dressed in their bikini bottoms and hoodies, and shorts for the guys, and went for a long walk along the beach, exploring, picking up shells, and watching the birds. Not far from the shipwreck, they came into mobile range, and all of them sat down to message their families and friends. Larissa sent a message to Ella – she seemed like the most organised – confirming pick up for the next day, with GPS coordinates. Then she sent a selfie of all of them to a bunch of family and friends. They looked at the shipwreck and talked to some other people looking at it who’d walked up the beach from the other direction. Then they stopped and ate the lunch they’d packed.

They made it back in time for a lazy afternoon; the guys tried fishing but the wind was too brisk, so they sat around in the gazebo, protected by the dune, watching as the wind eased through the afternoon. Late afternoon, Jane’s parents turned up for dinner, with water and ice. Once they’d been introduced to Julian, Jane’s mum said, “Well, where’s the skinny-dipping?” and they all got into the water, playing in the waves, even though the on-shore breeze was still turning them to mush. It was cold, but Larissa wasn’t going to let Jane’s mum and dad stand her up on that, even though they were farmers and tough as old nails. Eventually Jane’s dad took sympathy on them, and said he’d had enough, and then they lit the fire early and made it a big one, and warmed up around it, talking. Jane’s family had been watching Layna obsessively, they heard, and enjoying it a lot, and they talked with Julian about some of the content. They asked about the sex kittens, of course, but were very gracious when Larissa declined to say anything at all about it; they just thanked her for doing something about it. They updated her to the local gossip; their mums had moved out of town to find custom elsewhere, and now everyone was competing to say how hard they’d tried to do something about it. But, they said, it wasn’t fair: it was Layna everyone was focused on, she was the one getting all the credit. Not Larissa. Larissa smiled and said that her family and her man knew what happened, and that was all she cared about. And they knew Jane had helped, right? They nodded quietly, and Jane smiled at her.

Then the subject got onto Jane’s deal with Thomas, and going down on each other. Larissa was intrigued with Jane’s dad’s take on it: he smiled at Jane, and said that he totally approved of his girl laying it on the line like that, but if Thomas was seen drinking again ... that would reflect really badly on Jane, and her family. Thomas swallowed, and promised her dad that it was his family too, and he’d never do that. To support that, he listed out all the ways he was bound into their family, deeply tied up with their family by his joint life with Jane; just like Larissa was so bound to Julian’s family, he’d done the same. “Tied up?” Jane’s mum asked. “I hear Larissa likes that! Does it run in the family?” Thomas grinned, and said that Jane had told him all about his wild sister and her man, and they’d gently tried it a little and enjoyed it a lot.

The wind died down enough that Jane’s dad cooked them dinner on the open fire. Then Jane’s parents said goodbye and got ready to head off while they had enough light to get back to the road – and then a long trip home at tractor speed, they joked.

Jane’s mum grabbed Thomas and Larissa and pulled them into a joint hug. “I’m so pleased with you, Thomas; Jane’s done really well with you, and I’m really happy you’re part of my family. And Larissa, you’ve made Jane so strong and grounded with her friends and her family. And Thomas. Please, visit as often as you can. Now, enjoy the rest of your holiday, and meeting your new family.”

Larissa gave her a lovely smile and kissed them both firmly. Thomas had definitely fallen on his feet with Jane. Then they let the fire go out and sat in the Gazebo and played card games late into the night again, and then Larissa was determined to prove that she could ride Julian, flat against him in the swag. Which meant Jane had to as well.

The next morning dawned fine and calm, a beautiful day, and Thomas and Julian went surfing at Dawn again. Larissa was all set to get up and run along the beach again, when Jane asked if she could slide into bed with her. Sure, so Jane snuggled up under the covers with Larissa, both of them naked, with Persephone on top of them, and had a really intimate talk with ‘her favourite sister,’ about friends, family, and their men. Yes, Jane had heard the phrase from Larissa too. Matt and Isabella and partners were coming late in the morning, and Jane was nervous about that – beautiful, rich, glamourous, and frequently in the gossip pages of the Gippsland news, while Jane was the opposite.

“Oh, Jane,” Larissa said, “If you care about those things, then yes, they’re everything you’re not. But tell me, are any of those things important to you?” Not at all, Jane agreed. Larissa smiled and told Jane all the things she had going for her. “Sure, we have them as brothers and sisters, and they’re ... OK. But you: you’re great.” Then she told them how they’d tried to lord it over Larissa, how she’d reversed that on them – which made Jane laugh – and then how their attitudes had changed over time. “So really, just ignore that stuff; get to know them, and be friends with them, and it’ll be fine.”

“Well, Thomas is nervous, see, because Isabella was in his year, and sometimes in his class.”

“Yeah,” Larissa said. “I’m pretty sure she never had any idea that Thomas existed.”

“Right. Thomas thinks so too. He said she could come but he’s a bit nervous she’ll just be like that.”

Larissa nodded. “I understand. I’ll make sure she treats him right.”

Then they moved on to getting tied up. Thomas and Jane had tried it, but it hadn’t had the wow factor it seemed to have for Larissa, in spite of what Thomas had said last night. Had they done it wrong? They talked about it deeply, and it seemed as though it just wasn’t their thing, and they shouldn’t feel bad about that. Larissa told her about meeting Kat on the beach, which got it all started, and how they managed it, and then how she worked it to keep Amelia safe. Then she told her about Sophie – tied to James completely in her heart from their first date as fifteen-year-olds, but never interested in being tied up, even though she knew and saw how her daughters loved it. So don’t feel bad, Larissa said. Do it if it works, and don’t do it if it doesn’t. But: if they wanted to try it as a game later? Jane said she’d think about that, but she felt better knowing that Larissa was chill with it not being their thing.

They were still hugging tightly, and talking, their lips almost touching, when the guys came back from surfing and looked in the swag. “Man,” Thomas said, “that’s even hotter than showering!” And honestly, Larissa was turned on by this, and really wanting Julian. She whispered that to Jane, and found out it had the same effect on Jane.

“Want to do something wild?” Larissa asked Jane.

“Maybe,” Jane said.

“Julian’s swag opens both ends. We open both, and stick our butts out, doggy style, and they can both do us from behind and we can keep talking and kiss. Wanna do that?”

Jane giggled. “Sure. That sounds like fun.”

“Hey boys,” Larissa said, “get your wetsuits off.”

While they were doing that, Larissa opened the head end of the swag, wiggled herself around – that took considerable flexibility in the swag, and made Jane laugh out loud, and then opened the other end that Jane had closed when she came in. Then, when the boys were ready, Jane and Larissa stuck their butts out, and Larissa said, “There you are, boys, they’re all yours.”

Julian and Thomas burst into laughter. “Love it,” Julian said. “Thomas, which end is which?”

He must have winked at Thomas, because he answered, “Gee, I’m not sure. Does it matter? Two beautiful asses, we’re sensationally lucky guys!”

In the swag, Larissa whispered to Jane, “Now he thinks he’s lucky?” and Jane laughed.

“Well,” Julian said, “let’s start with this one.”

Jane shook, and her eyes opened wide. “They’re both feeling me up,” she whispered in shock.

Larissa grinned at her. “You’re ok with that?”

Jane smiled and nodded. “But Thomas will feel you up!”

Larissa grinned. “I’m OK with that. Julian knows my limits.” Then she kissed Jane, though not too deeply; Jane liked the closeness, but didn’t want more, which Larissa was fine with.

“Well, that one looks ready,” Julian said. “Let’s check the other one.”

Larissa heard some noises on the sand, and then two hands held her butt. “This is really OK with her?” she heard Thomas asking.

“Sure. You can feel me up!” Larissa said, and then she heard Thomas’ surprise that she’d answered, and how. And now she did have more hands on her. “So good,” she whispered to Jane.

They played with her a little bit more, and then Julian said, “Do you want to toss for which one? Or do you want to pick?”

Jane’s eyes opened in shock, and then Thomas said, “Toss what? I’m not waiting for you to find a coin. You pick one, and I’ll do the other.”

Jane really looked unsure now, so Larissa kissed her. “You’ll get Thomas,” she whispered, and then gasped. “And I’m getting Julian now!”

A few seconds later Jane shook and smiled. “Yes!”

Larissa tried to pay attention to Jane through the experience, but it was a little dark in the swag, and the feelings were awesome, and both her and Jane were getting screwed hard, bouncing backwards and forwards. She ended up holding Jane by her shoulder, and Jane held hers, so they didn’t get banged together. But occasionally she could see Jane smiling at her, and she knew when Jane came – couldn’t miss that, she really came good – and that set Larissa off. Sweet, and then Julian was filling her up. Then they were calm, and silent.

“Thanks,” Larissa said to Jane. “That was awesome, and I loved experiencing that with you.”

Jane smiled at her. “I loved it, and you’re my fucking sister now for sure!”

Larissa grinned at that. “Let’s go cuddle our guys.”

She crawled out of the swag, and turned and kissed ... Thomas? Hah, playing with their minds ... she had heard them swap afterwards now she thought of it. She jumped onto him, pushing him over and then clambered onto his waist. “Thanks for doing Jane for me! We loved that.” She turned and looked and Jane was perched up on Julian’s chest, holding on to him tight and he was holding her up by her buns.

Thomas held her tight and kissed her gently. “I’m surprised you’re OK to do this?”

She smiled at him. “Naked cuddles with my brother? Sure. And I don’t mind you feeling me up a bit either. We’re not going to go further, and you have Jane, my awesome sister to do that with.” She looked at Jane again, and grinned. “And we’re both leaking out on you guys, and you’re all slimy and wet. Guess we better have a quick swim.”

Still no one on the beach, as expected, but it was a very quick swim – too cold, really. Jane and Larissa rinsed their hair again, and then they put their hoodies on, and Julian got the fire going while Jane whipped up some breakfast, and Larissa moved her chair next to Thomas and they hugged while watching their lovers work.

“This year is starting wonderfully, so much better than last year,” Thomas said. “Last year, you packed your car and left without even talking to me at all. And then, you didn’t answer your phone and nothing until you suddenly started talking to me again weeks later.”

Larissa pulled him tighter and sighed. “I’m really sorry. I was in the middle of falling apart. Did you notice how much I was drinking?”

“Umm, yeah,” Thomas said. “It was kind of continuous by the end of the week. I was surprised you were sober when you left.” He sighed, and said, “A few days after you left, I went to a party and ran into Ian and his girlfriend.”

Larissa thought back to that awful car ride, when Ian’s girlfriend wouldn’t let Ian take her home after finding them screwing. “I bet she had horrible things to say about me.”

“She told me what happened, and at first I defended you, sure that she was lying. But then I saw Ian’s smirk, and I knew. And I realised your drinking got much worse after it happened. So I had to listen to all the horrible things she said about you. Then she said she was going to tell Mum and Dad. I did not want to be around them after that, so the next day, I accepted the job at the gas plant, and I was gone by the middle of the next week.”

“Oh,” Larissa said in a little voice. Her very stupid thing with Ian did that?

“It was more than that, of course. You were falling apart, and they weren’t doing anything about it. I said something to mum about you and dad heard and yelled at me. And mum was a shadow of herself. And I was just sick of it all, and the gas plant job was a way to get out. I was in a pretty dark place too, and I figured I’d never see you again, at least alive.”

Larissa sighed. “No, you might not have. I was in a bad place and getting worse. And then Sal saved me. I owe her so much. I’m sorry that you were collateral damage.”

“Well, you don’t have to be sorry. I met Jane, so it was all for a good purpose.”

“Hey, I’ve never asked. How did you meet Jane?”

“One of the guys I work with invited me to a party, and Jane was there. When she heard that I was new to the area and didn’t know anyone, she invited me to some other parties. Because she’s just the most loving person, not because she was interested in me. She’s way too classy for me anyway. But she noticed me eventually, and we got talking more and we had a date, and whoosh!”

Jane was listening, Larissa saw, and when she looked at her, Jane said, “Sure. I had lots of guys wanting me, but I wanted to learn about them first, particularly after my second boyfriend turned into a disaster. And I liked Thomas but I wanted a real good look at a new guy in the area who’s cut off from his family.” Larissa nodded, that made a lot of sense. “Doing nursing at Warragul, I met a girl who knew you from school and she told me about your family. So I knew that wasn’t Thomas’ fault, though he has some damage. I was still thinking about that, and then one of my friends fell out with her guy, and she was at a pub for a friend, and some guy was hitting on her, and got her off kilter, and Thomas stepped in and kept her company, even though he only knew her a little, and totally looked after her, and we knew he wasn’t after her.” She smiled at Thomas. “That’s when I started paying attention.”

“And then, on our first date,” Thomas said, “I realised that I’ve found my soulmate. I’m going to treat her as well I possibly can so she never looks at anyone else again.” Jane gave him a lovely smile. “The blowjob thing is a great example. Not that I get them but that she’s totally committed to a vision of us being better than we were every day.” Now Larissa gave both of them a lovely smile. In fact, she jumped up and hugged Jane and then sat back next to Thomas, as close as she could.

“I love that. I’m so glad that you found Jane. Jane, you’re awesome.”

Thomas smiled at Larissa, and kissed her forehead. “Anyway, I didn’t want to bring all that old history up again, I just wanted to tell you how much I love that you’re in such a better place. How amazing that after all that, you’re the one spreading the love, inspiring us to be better people. You’ve made a huge difference for Jane. And I’m much better off for it too.”

Jane heard that and turned to smile at Larissa. “I can’t tell you how much better I’m getting on with my siblings and their partners now. And my friends. Well, and Thomas!” She looked reflective for a minute. “Your mum calls it the Larissa magic. And look what you did for your her!”

Larissa pouted. “Well, yes. Our mum. Which leads us to today’s little adventure. Do we need to talk about that?”

“Oh yes,” Thomas said. “There’s four of them, but not really any gear. So I could go and pick them up, but they don’t know me. Julian, want to learn to drive the tractor so you can get them?”

Julian looked at Thomas in surprise. Larissa could see that he’d like that very much indeed, but he said, “Would that be OK, would it? We can’t both go?”

“Sure it would be OK, and no, five is too many in the tray. You just follow the existing tracks and go super slow through the creeks. Want to practice?”

After breakfast, Julian practised the drive in the tractor with Thomas in the tray telling him what to do, and Larissa hung by the fire with Jane. They let it die out, since the day was warming up quickly, and ditched the hoodies, leaving them naked again. Julian and Thomas came back and laughed at them, and Thomas wanted to know whether the naked babes wanted a ride on the tractor. Or did they want to get laid?

“Nah,” Larissa said. “We need fish for dinner. When’s the fishing happening? No sex until I’ve seen the fish!”

Oh yes, Thomas agreed. Definitely time to fish. He showed Julian the gear, and the two of them disappeared over the sand dune to the beach to get the lines into the water. Larissa dragged Jane out onto the beach to watch – Julian had never done surfcasting before, and she was a little interested. Jane and Larissa sat on the beach and talked as they watched. It seemed pretty simple to Larissa, but managing the continuous surf seemed tiresome, even though it was only little. The guys also stripped off and sat next to the girls whenever they weren’t busy until Jane looked at her watch and said, “It’s time.”

They agreed to leave the rods in the water and hope for the best while Julian went to get their siblings, or whatever they were called. Julian pulled on a pair of shorts and went to meet them, while Jane had a quick tidy-up of the camp site. It was already tidy, but Larissa understood that this was her nervousness showing through. When the camp was tidy twice over, she said, “Jane, do you want us to put bikini bottoms on, or stay naked?”

Jane thought about that for a while, and said, “What do you think?”

“Bikini bottoms, then we can take them off for a swim once we’ve met them and showed them what they need to know.”

Jane took a deep breath, and said, “OK!”

Larissa grinned at her. “I’m really looking forward to what they say when we show them the toilet and shower!” That, at least, made Jane laugh. “I was amazed when they wanted to come visit for the day, and I hadn’t even thought about that bit.”

“Why did they want to come?” Jane asked.

“Yeah, I’m not really sure,” Larissa said. “We told them what we were doing, and they screwed their noses up, yuck! Their kind of holiday is naked on a big boat with a full galley and bar, showing off. Camping in the wilderness with as little gear as possible ... totally not their thing. But mum told them a bit about it, and they wanted to meet you two – Bob and Mary said really nice things about both of you, and there’s some parts of Australia this is the only way to see them, so maybe they need to get their heads around that. But still ... I was really surprised. So we’ll just have to find out.”

“Well, we’re about to,” Thomas said. “I can hear the tractor.”

Larissa went and held Thomas tight. He was nervous, he agreed, but really, with Jane and Larissa around ... he knew he was going to be fine.

As soon as she saw them, Larissa laughed. All four of them were wearing hoodies and bikini bottoms or jocks. Obviously they’d talked to Julian when he picked them up. And other than that, they had remarkably little stuff. Hats and towels, and both girls had a little bag over their shoulders. Wow, Larissa was impressed. Her mum had told them about the day they sent a maid to the beach loaded with their stuff so they could look like they didn’t have much.

She jumped up, laughing, and when the tractor stopped, both Isabella and Ella jumped off the tray and enveloped her in a big hug, very happy to see her. “Hello, sister,” Isabella said, “it’s wonderful to be here. We’re all so excited!” Then she got hugs from Matt and Mason.

When Larissa turned around to introduce Thomas and Jane, she found both of the girls taking their hoodies off, leaving them topless. Ella smiled. “Your mum gave us instructions!” she said, laughing. Then she turned to Jane. “You must be Jane! It’s great to meet you, we’re so excited. I’m Ella, Matt’s girl.” She pointed at Matt. “And that’s Isabella and Mason.” She turned to Thomas. “And you’re Thomas, and it’s great to meet Larissa’s brother.”

Isabella wrapped Jane up in a hug, and then did the same with Thomas, and Ella did the same. The guys also hugged Jane, but settled for shaking hands with Thomas. Larissa smiled – they’d lost their tops too.

“OK, let me show you round,” Larissa said. She showed them the drinking water, and their cups. “Keep your cups – see, they’ve got your name on them, and have as much water as you want. It’s the only thing we have to drink here.” Then she showed them their food box, and their ice box, and their swags. “We don’t have seats for all of us, so you guys can have the seats, and we’ll sit on the ground.”

“We can sit on the guy’s laps,” Isabella said.

“Oh, not these camping seats,” Thomas said, “only one person at a time, unfortunately. I’d love to have Jane on my lap.” He winked at Jane salaciously.

“Oh,” Jane said, “that’s why you volunteered us to sit on the ground?”

They all laughed. “OK, that was the easy bit,” Larissa said. “Now for the other bit.” She walked them over to the bathroom side of the glade, sort of behind a bush, but not really. “Here’s the toilet and shower.” She laughed at their expressions. “Yep. Squat over the trench at this end, do your thing, and then cover it with a spade. Or, just go in the ocean. The shower is only for us girls’ hair, after swimming in the ocean, use as little water as possible.”

“But...” Ella said, “everyone can see.”

Larissa shrugged. “Sure. So we just don’t look. Though if Isabella actually wants us to look, we can.”

Isabella laughed. “Nah, I don’t need to show off that way. But why not just always go in the ocean?”

“Well, we can find that out now. Let’s get our gear off and go for a swim.”

Matt laughed. “What gear?”

“You can leave your jocks on,” Jane said, “but we always go naked here.”

“What if there’s someone on the beach?”

Jane shrugged. “The only people on the beach are hikers walking the length of the beach, and there’s like one of them a week. And they’ve never minded.”

They stripped and ran up over the dune. “Hey!” Thomas said, “We’ve caught something!”

Jane turned and said, “Well, find out what it is. We’ll see when you bring it in.”

That split the group. All the guys went to watch Thomas, while the girls followed Jane into the water. “Most of the time it’s nothing,” Jane said.