‘Not at all,’ he replied. He couldn’t bring himself to say yes to a drink, despite the dryness of his mouth. He couldn’t take anything else from her. ‘Um. So,’ he began, ‘I just—’ He broke off, trying to remember the speech he’d composed on his way here. It had seemed plausible back then, noble even, but now the right words seemed to have slid out of reach. ‘I came round to say that I’m sorry I’ve not been over for ages, but I do want to help,’ he managed to get out. I’m sad too, he wanted to say. I’ve been a complete mess. Today is the first time I’ve shaved in a fortnight. ‘I want to support you and the kids,’ he went on. ‘You know, be there for you all. So if there’s ever anything I can do, then—’

‘MUMMY! He hit me,’ yelled Bea just then, bursting into the room like a small raging tornado. ‘Gabe hit me with the remote, right here.’ Bristling with self- righteousness, she pointed to her temple, where a red mark bloomed. ‘See?’

Zoe’s shoulders stiffened. ‘Gabe,’ she shouted tonelessly. ‘What have I told you? If you can’t share, the screen goes off. Do you hear me?’

‘You said he’d be banned from the Xbox if he did it again,’ Bea was keen to remind her. ‘You need to ban him now, Mummy. Tell him!’

‘I’m busy at the moment,’ Zoe said, not turning round as she chopped through another carrot.

‘Hi, Bea,’ said Dan. This was his chance to do something useful, he realized. ‘Shall we set the table together to help Mummy?’

‘That’s Ethan’s job,’ she said, flouncing out again. ‘Gabe! Mummy says you’re in big trouble,’ they heard her yell. ‘Really, really BIG. If you touch me again, you’re dead.’

Zoe flinched at her daughter’s words but before Dan could say anything, Ethan walked into the room. ‘What’s for dinner?’ he asked. ‘Oh, hi, Uncle Dan.’

Ethan was tall and reedy, pale- faced with large square glasses and tufty ginger- brown hair. He was a quiet boy, thoughtful and artistic, who gave the impression of creating whole worlds up in his un- walled mind. He’d been such an earnest toddler, head always cocked as he asked one brain-bending question after another. Now he was fourteen and still a quirky sort. Patrick had worried about him starting secondary school – He’s not like the other kids, they’ll kick the shit out of him, he’d agonized once to Dan – but so far Ethan seemed to be surviving unscathed.

‘Bangers and mash,’ Zoe said shortly.