‘Mum,’ I say, gently trying to take the kettle from her hand. Her grip is solid. I can’t even move a finger. She doesn’t look at me. I wonder if she’s sleepwalking or having a seizure. I’m panicking, wondering whether to call an ambulance, or if I should get her to lie down. I’ve taken care of Mum when she’s ill a million times, but nothing like this has ever happened before. And then she blinks, looks at me, then down at the watery mess she’s made. She puts down the kettle and picks up a tea towel.

‘Go back to bed, Lance,’ she says. ‘I’ll get this cleaned up.’

‘But…’ What the hell is going on? ‘Are you OK?’

She smiles at me. ‘I’m fine. You know how clumsy I can be. I’ll sort this out while you go and get some sleep. You look tired.’

‘I’m not tired,’ I say, grabbing a kitchen roll and ripping off some sheets. ‘I’ll help.’ 37

She tilts her head and looks at me, and there’s something in the way she does it that makes my skin crawl. It’s such a small thing, but I’m closer to my mum than anyone, and I know her like I know myself. This isn’t her. This is new.

There’s a scratch at the back door, and for what feels like the hundredth time today, I physically jump, and my already rocketing heartbeat moves up another notch. Betty jumps in through the cat flap onto the kitchen tiles. She looks up at us and skids to a stop. Then she fixes her eyes on Mum, arches her back and hisses like a demon cat. I look from her to Mum – Mum who loves this cat more than almost anything else in the world; Mum who was fretting about her just a moment ago.

‘Interesting,’ Mum says.

I swallow. Take a breath. ‘Why’s she growling at you?’

‘Who knows?’ Mum smiles. ‘But you said yourself that she’s always been a psycho cat. I’m sure she’ll get over it.’ And she goes back to mopping up the spilt water.

Betty turns and disappears back out of the cat flap at lightning speed, leaving it swinging behind her. 38

‘I’ll finish here,’ Mum says. ‘You really should go up to bed.’

‘OK,’ I say, suddenly wanting to be as far away from Mum as possible so I can think. ‘I’ll go and lie down.’