‘I was speaking to Jim and it came up. They’re desperate to see the kids. And anyway, maybe Saoirse thinks you’re always busy …’

He lifted his paper as he said the final words, as if protecting himself from a potential shower of bullets. But for once she wasn’t on the attack.

Saoirse. Gabriela felt a twinge when she thought of her now.

Even before their bust-up on the evening of Sadie’s party, their lives had long since started to diverge. It was hard enough keeping up with friends who had children of the same age, who were running the same treadmill within a square mile of where they lived. Saoirse and Jim, on the other hand, were leading a child-free, seemingly untethered existence in rural Devon – and so it was natural that the weekly meet-ups with the woman she once considered her closest friend had slowly given way to monthly phone calls, fading to occasional dinners and then texts berating themselves for leaving it so long and promising to catch up soon. Just as soon as things settle down a bit.

And then, things were said that were impossible to come back from.

It made it easier, though, the increased distance between them, given everything that would follow. She could admit that much to herself now. Would the events that had unfolded ever have come to pass if Saoirse hadn’t moved away? If anyone could have seen through all of this and made Gabriela hold herself to account, it would have been Saoirse.

‘Next weekend?’ she said thoughtfully before interrupting herself. ‘Oh actually, I can’t. It’s Madeleine’s birthday party, and I can’t miss it. You go, take the kids. They’d love it.’

Even as she said it, she felt like a traitor. What kind of person willingly ignored their best friend?

Tom paused as if he wanted to say something more, but then he sighed. ‘OK, I’ll tell them.’

He was in the bath half an hour later when his phone rang in the pocket of his coat. Ordinarily, Gabriela would have ignored it, but the ringer was so loud that she pulled it out to silence the sound.

When she looked at the name flashing on the screen, something inside her made her answer.

‘Hello?’

‘Oh, sorry, I—’

‘Hi, Harriet,’ she said.

There was a pause the other end, then Harriet replied, lightening her voice.

‘Hey, Gabriela, good to hear you! Sorry to ring so late, only Millie was asking if Sadie could come over on the weekend and I …’

Her words petered out.

‘Right,’ Gabriela said, as Tom emerged at the top of the stairs in a towel.

‘Who is it?’

She looked up at him and spoke pointedly into the phone receiver, without letting go of his gaze. ‘Tom’s here now, Harriet. I’ll just pass you over.’