‘And they’d taken it to the vet’s.’ Toby raised his voice to cover her protest. ‘And luckily for you, I mean, us, Branston only had two broken legs and several broken ribs and he recovered. Apart from his limp.’

Tara’s heart pounded in her chest. ‘I have absolutely no recollection of that whatsoever.’

‘Of course you don’t. You blanked out lots of stuff that you did after Dad left.’

‘Tara, if it’s any consolation, I never heard that story,’ said Keith.

‘Well, you wouldn’t,’ said Toby, before she could speak. ‘Mum made a point of shutting down every avenue of communication, didn’t she? Both ways, as it turns out.’

Keith looked uncomfortable. ‘Look, it’s in the past. There are reasons why …’

Toby finished the dregs of his gin. ‘I’m going to get another drink.’

‘Like that helps!’ Tara shouted after him, nearly in tears, and then added, ‘Sorry, Dad, no offence.’

‘No, I’m sorry, Tara.’ Keith had had his head in his hands, but he removed them, so he could look her in the eye. His were bloodshot. ‘That’s a sad story. You must have been very worried about Branston. And me.’

‘I don’t remember it,’ she insisted. But she knew that didn’t mean it hadn’t happened. There were cupboards in Tara’s head, cupboards where certain things went. Sliding doors that you could shut against even experienced supervisors.

Keith didn’t contradict her. Silently, he extended a hand, and Tara took it.

She didn’t know what to say, so she said nothing, and they sat there, united in guilty remembrance of Branston’s unconditional devotion, until, too soon, Toby returned.

To Tara’s horror, he was carrying something.

‘Dad, this your phone?’ Toby offered it to Keith. ‘It’s just stopped ringing.’

‘Where was that? I’ve been looking for it.’

‘In the kitchen? The ringer was off, I only noticed it because it was flashing in the dark.’

Tara held her breath as he handed it over. Was Toby going to say something? He would have seen the missed calls too. She tried to catch his eye. Couldn’t Toby see what Dad was doing? Couldn’t he see history repeating itself? Didn’t he care?

Toby calmly sipped his drink, and refused to meet her gaze.

Tara clenched her fists to stop the energy racing up and down her arms. I’ve got to say something, she thought. I can’t just leave it.

‘Dad?’

He was already scrolling through the messages and didn’t look up. ‘What, darling?’

‘Can you leave your phone alone for one evening?’ She struggled to keep her tone calm, adult. ‘I feel as if there are strangers muscling in on our time when you’re on your phone.’

Keith still didn’t look up. ‘It’s important, Tara. I won’t be a second.’