‘No, we won’t leave you on your own,’ Alice said, but she could feel Jules bristling.

‘We don’t have to be stuck together all weekend, do we? We’re all adults.’ She said it lightly, but her expression changed to one of shock, as if she couldn’t believe she’d let that slip out herself.

Alice’s face burned. ‘No. We don’t. I just thought…’

‘I’m sorry,’ Jules said quickly. ‘I didn’t mean it like that.’ She sighed; she felt like she spent her whole life apologising these days. To Paul, to her boss, now to her final refuge, her friends. In truth, she wasn’t used to being around people this much. At work, everyone kept largely to themselves. At home, she and Paul dealt with things in different ways: him in the gym and, having given up trying to speak to Jules, speaking to friends; her at home, with her own company, how she liked it.

‘Of course you didn’t,’ Nina said, wrapping an arm around her. ‘We want to be here for you but if you need time to yourself, that’s cool too. Just let us know.’ Jules saw Nina looking at Alice sympathetically with a half-smile, a just let it go expression, and Alice biting on her lip and looking away. Jules felt terrible now. Absolutely terrible. When had she become so critical? No wonder her marriage was in such a mess.

‘I thought you’d want to take in an art gallery?’ Jules asked Alice, trying to smooth over the fissures she’d created.

‘Yeah, maybe,’ Alice said. ‘We’re not here very long though, are we?’ She shrugged, still looking hurt, her eyes on the pavement as they walked back to the apartment awkwardly, Alice no longer pointing out shops or making suggestions of things they could do tomorrow, and Jules felt on the one hand awful and on the other hand relieved. She needed to refine her strategy.

Nina assumed the role of peacemaker, initiating a conversation with Alice about the mums at school, a topic that always provided much material. ‘Any recent dietary advice from Chernoble?’ she asked.

‘Chernoble?’ enquired Jules politely.

‘Chernoble and the Glossy Mums. They’re her sidekicks. I always like to envisage them as a band, Chernoble on the mic, the others with guitars and saxophones.’ She air-guitared a riff as they walked down the street. Jules always thought it a shame that Nina had stopped playing the guitar, after that business with Samir.

‘Victoria Noble,’ Alice supplied, ‘my school nemesis. She’s a nutritionist and is constantly suggesting things I should cut out for Charlotte “that might be a contributing factor”.’ She put on a snippy, pious tone. ‘It’s broccoli at the moment,’ she added to Nina. ‘“Lots of links to behavioural problems”.’ She did the voice again, which made Nina chuckle. ‘Last week it was oranges. “Orange oil is in everything, Alice! You need to be so careful.”’

‘God, I couldn’t bear all that school gates stuff,’ Nina said in a faraway voice, stopping short in case she’d offended Jules, but Jules was pulling a face too and agreeing.