“And here, take these.” She held her closed hand above mine and I gratefully accepted two headache tablets. I knew from vast experience that along with tea, they were the sure-fire way to kerb a massive wine hangover.

I popped the tablets in my mouth and pulled myself to an upright position. Oh, crap. Water. I needed water. As if by magic, a glass of water appeared in front of me. Have I mentioned how much I love my sister?

I swallowed the tablets with a gulp of water and downed the rest of the glass. “How are you feeling, Cat?” She was moving around the kitchen, making up two bowls of cereal with yoghurt while the tea brewed.

“Oh, I’m all right.” I eyed her with concern. Cat didn’t usually suffer from hangovers like I did, but she certainly wasn’t her typical “morning person” self—my doing, I was sure.

“Sorry we drank so much last night—and that we stayed up so late.” I stood slowly, steadying myself before I began folding the doona.

“Pfft, don’t worry about it. I loved hearing about your trip, especially your suitors, as Gerry would say.” She chuckled to herself, clearly at my expense, but I didn’t mind. If she was teasing me, she was probably okay. I put the folded doona onto the pile of untouched linens and added my pillow, then pulled out a stool at the breakfast bar and sat waiting for my tea.

“It was such a wonderful trip, Cat—and not just ’cause of Josh and James.” An unbidden smile broke across my face as I mentally transported myself back to the boat, our “floating home” we’d called it.

Cat handed me a mug of tea and I took a sip—strong and milky, just how I liked it. “Seriously, Greece is sublime. I mean, it’s beautiful. Just being there, seeing those craggy islands with the whitewashed boxy buildings, that pop of Santorini blue, gorgeous bursts of bougainvillea everywhere, it made my heart sing.” We shared a smile across the kitchen counter and I sipped more tea.

“And time just seemed to go slower there, you know. I really felt like I was squeezing the most out of every day, like each one had a hundred hours in it.” I could feel the tea coursing through me, calming me and easing the pounding in my head. Or maybe it was thoughts of Greece working their magic.

“I really needed that trip, Cat, that fresh perspective on everything. I’ve been so stuck.”

“I know, Sez.” Her voice was gentle and her eyes so filled with kindness, I was a millimetre from succumbing to a bout of self-pity and regret. How had I let myself get so lost? How had I let so much time pass without living?

“I’ll have to take you there someday,” I added brightly, shaking off the strong pull of wallowing.

“Next time. We need to work out the timing better, though.”

“Yeah. Sorry ’bout that.” It had been entirely my fault. When I’d booked the trip, I hadn’t even considered Cat’s teaching commitments. All I’d known in that dark moment as I scoured the internet, credit card in hand, was that I needed something to look forward to, something just for me.