I didn’t hear the waves; I’ve looked but I haven’t seen, thought Shona. I thought that I was lying to protect the children, and all I’ve done is push them down the same path as me, the same path as my parents. So Omar feels he has to hide the truth, to protect us, and I’m losing my own son to his secret. And I might have already lost Sharif; he may never forgive me for holding back the truth about Candida during those few weeks when he was seeing her. I made him live with a guilty secret that he didn’t even know.

Shona made a decision. This is where it would end. She would tear through that intricate web, and damn the consequences. With a sinking heart, she realized she would have to start with herself; Parvez deserved to be the first to know.

Sharif Khan and the Terrifying Truth

YOU KNOW, I still can’t believe it,’ Sharif said to Candida, pulling off another slice of the take-out pizza they were having for lunch. ‘Mum is barely home from Bangladesh, and then she and Dad tell us that they’re separating.’ ‘It’s such a shame. Your mummy’s lovely,’ said Candida. ‘Your dad’s mad to let her go.’

‘It’s not his choice, poor sod. Mum didn’t say in so many words, but she’s basically met someone.’ He chewed on his pizza. ‘And then a week later, Omar finally tells us about his new college squeeze, and it’s not a she, it’s a he! I mean, I know I always called him a bloody big poofter, but I didn’t expect him to go and prove me right. And Mum was right there sticking up for him, like she knew all along. Dad was furious with them both - I think that’s the only reason he’s let Mum go with so little fight. He’s become insanely parochial, and started talking about sending Omar to Pakistan to get fixed up with some poor chick.’ He glanced towards the fridge. ‘Is my beer cold yet?’

In Sharif’s tiny Collier’s Wood kitchen, Candida could reach out and open the freezer compartment on top of the fridge without even getting up from her place at the table. As she inspected the contents of the freezer, she said, ‘I’m glad Omar’s happy, that’s all that’s important, isn’t it? He was clever to run off to Spain so quickly, to leave the fallout behind … OK, your beer is sort of cold, my wine still isn’t.’

‘You can share some of my beer, if you want,’ Sharif offered gallantly.

‘My hero,’ said Candida wryly. ‘It starts off with breakfast in bed and roses, and ends up like this. You know, when you said you’d be making lunch for us today, this isn’t quite what I expected.’