‘Of course it does!’ Bruno was furious now. It was Simon who should be getting it in the neck, not him.

‘No, it doesn’t,’ Simon piped up. ‘Your dad’s your boss, which means you can’t get the sack. And there’s no chance of him asking you to wipe someone’s arse – unless of course it’s your fantastic big brother’s!’

Alex let out a guffaw and punched Simon on the shoulder. Bruno could feel his face burning.

‘At least my dad’s not a nutjob,’ he snapped. He immediately realised he’d gone too far.

Simon glared at Bruno, but didn’t say a word. A sudden gust of wind made the tent flap flutter, then there was nothing but an oppressive silence.

‘Come on, girls – don’t you think we’re a bit old to be playing my-dad’s-better-than-your-dad?’ Alex said when the silence had gone on for a little too long. ‘I thought we sorted that in nursery. You know I always win, because Henry’s bigger and stronger than your useless daddies. Plus, he has a gun, so that’s the end of that,’ he added in a childish voice before handing out cold cans of beer from one of the cool bags. ‘Now have a drink and play nicely!’

The cans were opened, the atmosphere lightened.

‘Sorry . . .’ Bruno muttered to Simon.

‘It’s fine – I started it. Besides, Alex is right.’ Simon gestured with the beer can. ‘Obviously, Henry is harder than our two daddies put together. Just look at the caveman he’s raised. Neck like a bull, arms like a gorilla, one headlock away from a pair of cauliflower ears.’ Simon and Bruno exchanged a grin.

‘Fuck off, both of you!’ Alex finished his beer and belched loudly, then stood up and crumpled the can with one hand.

‘OK, let’s go and grab the rest of the stuff from the car. If we put up Simon’s tent quickly, we’ll have time for a swim before the girls get here.’

*

When Carina and Marie arrived in the glade with rucksacks and plastic carrier bags, the boys were just changing into their trunks. Alex had placed his boombox on the edge of the rock, and Def Leppard was blasting out across the quarry.

Bruno and Simon quickly got dressed again, turned the music down and hurried to meet the girls. They seemed quite happy not to have to jump in; the water was deep and the surface relatively shaded, so it never really warmed up. However, the thought of the cold didn’t seem to bother Alex. He ran barefoot along the path to the far end, then began to scale the steep cliff face with ease.