Jude watched the south end, where surfboats were forming up for their heats. An ocean swimming race to a buoy off the north end was in train, while juniors were competing on rescue boards in the middle and the beach sprints were moving through their eliminations closer to the dunes.

‘He’s doing much better,’ Jude said.

‘Ben?’

‘His teachers are saying he’s working with more purpose.’

‘He’s on the paediatrician’s speed pills, so maybe it’s that.’

‘Half the school is medicated, you know.’

‘Pills to stop boys being boys is what Gordon calls them.’

‘It’s probably more than the medication,’ Jude said.

‘You mean us splitting up? It’s given him some much-needed certainty, instead of wondering how long we’d last?’

‘Stability is the thing. But are you really split up?’

Jude knew more than Kelly was comfortable with, but she also didn’t know the half of it. If their finances deteriorated any further, and if Norma didn’t take up Kelly’s proposal, the instability of Ben’s living arrangements might just be starting.

‘Down there,’ Jude said before Kelly could reply. ‘She could teach my staff a few things about caring for kids.’

Valiantly, Lou was organising her eight-strong crew to wheel their surfboat trailer from the ramp to the southern corner. The girls were more disciplined than boys, but they were also occupied with talking to each other. The trailer had to stop when it ran over a very tall girl’s foot.

‘She’s been an amazing mentor to him,’ Jude said, eyes lingering on Lou and the girls’ crew.

‘Ben told you that?’

‘Kids that age need one adult they can talk with.’

‘It used to be me and Gordon.’

‘Not many choose a parent.’

‘Or the principal.’

‘A role that’s evolved since our day.’

‘Right.’ Kelly reached out to remove the Onassis sunglasses, which Jude permitted with as much ceremony as if Kelly were disrobing her. ‘What’s going on between Ben and Daniel?’

‘Ben and Daniel? I think Ben arrives at school each morning aware that he has to watch every step. He’s negotiating a maze of social factors. It’s not easy for him to assert his unorthodox self while fitting in with a group that has a low tolerance for unconventionality. But we see the entire school as a safe space.’

‘Again, in English?’

Jude took Kelly in, amused. She removed her sunglasses from Kelly’s hand and replaced them on her face. ‘Daniel’s a complicated young man. But the road ahead of him is different. Ben has a mother and father who are supportive, a sister figure in Lou whom he can open up to, and a certain imperviousness to other people’s opinions.’

‘Others were accepted quicker.’

‘He needs to understand that it’s not required for him to evangelise. He feels sorry for Daniel and wants to help him, but what worked for Ben isn’t necessarily the solution for Daniel.’

‘Meaning it’s harder for an alpha male with a knobhead father.’