‘Doubt it! The size of her,’ Phil muttered as he drained the last of a can of beer.

‘Pardon?’

‘Nothing. Only joking.’ He marshalled a swift smile on to his face before carrying on with, ‘I know you can’t just “not bother” with her and I wasn’t suggesting you abandon her or anything. But you could get someone else in to look after her. It doesn’t have to be you all the time. Anyone would think you like being the only one she can count on …’

Grace sighed and decided to fast-forward the next part of her plan to make her own life easier, and because in all honestly she really didn’t have the energy to argue with him or explain the situation any more than she already had done, umpteen times. And she could see the way the relationship was going, only this time it was worse as she was actually living with her mother. Back when Matthew had started complaining about Cora’s demands she had mostly been visiting and helping her out of an evening and at weekends. In addition to the late-night phone calls, of course. Sooner or later, Phil would have enough and find someone else too, just like Matthew had, and she really couldn’t put herself through all that again.

‘Maybe we should have a break!’ she blurted out.

Phil’s face froze.

There, she had said it, and felt a wave of relief. Better out than in is what her mother would say. Cora was a great believer in speaking your mind and had drummed it into Grace to do so too … ‘I’m only being honest,’ she would say, even if the words were spiteful and hurtful. Grace had been carrying the thought of slowing things down with Phil around inside her head for a while now. But having told him, she panicked, never having been one for confrontation, so felt the need to add, ‘It’s not fair on you. My mum needs me, and you are right, I don’t put you first …’

‘What?’ Phil spluttered. ‘Don’t be daft, Gracie. You can’t dump me.’

‘I’m not dumping you, exactly.’

‘Yes you are. Everyone knows “a break”,’ he paused to do sarcastic quote signs in the air, ‘means dumped!’

‘But I can’t put you first, Phil.’

‘That’s not what I meant. I didn’t say you need to put me first. I said we should put each other first.’

‘Did you?’ Grace felt confused now, her head crammed full of cotton wool … from the exhaustion most likely.

‘Of course, babe. Me and you. Always has been. It’s about us.’ And he stroked a finger over the back of her hand.