Nicole gazed at the door Zoe had just sprinted through. She was relieved Zoe hadn’t asked for advice on acting because her advice at the moment would be Don’t do it. “I can’t believe how grown-up she seems. I remember giving her dress-up clothes when she was four.”

“I know. It’s unsettling how fast time passes.” Milly grabbed a loaf of sourdough, cut a few thick slices and then hacked it into rough chunks. “One minute she’s lining up her soft toys on the bed, and the next she’s talking about the patriarchy. It gives me whiplash.”

“She’s wonderful, Milly. So bright and confident. I don’t remember us being so sure of ourselves. Were we?”

“I don’t know. I can’t remember that far back. Come and talk to me while I cook. One of the advantages of this heat wave is that we can eat on the deck.” Milly paused. “Unless you’d rather not sit outside?”

The urge to hide away was powerful, but she fought it hard.

“It’s not overlooked. It will be nice to eat with a view of the lake. I love your deck. I particularly love your porch swing.” She watched as Milly removed a stack of ingredients from the fridge. “What can I do?”

“Nothing. Just sit there and talk to me while I prepare. Glass of wine?”

Nicole shook her head. “I don’t drink.”

“Since when? You were drinking when we visited you last.”

Nicole remembered precisely when. “I decided I wanted to be healthier.” It wasn’t the truth, but it could have been, and fortunately Milly didn’t question it.

She walked back to the fridge and pulled out a jug. “Homemade lemonade? It’s beautifully refreshing in this weather.” Milly added ice to three glasses and poured the lemonade.

“Delicious.” Nicole decided not to think about the sugar content for once. At this point, did it even matter? “How has Zoe been about Richard?” Just saying the words made her heart hammer her chest, but she knew she had to ask, even though she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the answer. It was a question she should have asked a long time ago.

“Hard to say.” Milly tossed the chunks of bread in olive oil and herbs and tipped them onto a baking sheet. “Mostly she seems to be handling it, but you never know what is going on underneath. I think she protects me, and I protect her. Which means we don’t have too many honest conversations about it. But she has good friends, which makes me feel better about the whole thing. If there’s something she feels she can’t talk to me about, hopefully she’ll be talking to them.”

“Like we did.”