I screw the lid off my water and fiddle with it. He waits with uncharacteristic patience. I blow out a huge breath.

‘I just don’t want her getting used to that kind of thing, because that’s not who we are—that’s not our kind of lifestyle. I don’t want her being sad when everything goes back to normal.’

When he speaks, his words are halting. Considered. ‘That was a treat. A one-off. And yeah, hopefully it was more fun than most of the stuff in her daily life. But if you think about it, this week—and well before that—has been much worse than what the vast majority of kids have to deal with in their daily lives. What Tabby’s been through has been fucking hideous, love, so she deserves to have something far better than most kids get to enjoy, too.’

‘I get that, but⁠—’

He cuts me off, gently but firmly. ‘It’s not obvious that you do. If all the bad shit hasn’t ruined her, then a couple of treats won’t spoil her, either. It’s all about redressing the balance, love, giving her something to make it all worthwhile.

‘If a good day for her is not being in pain or not turning blue, then fucking hell. That’s no childhood. But wouldn’t it be nice if she knew that after the lows come some crazy highs, too? She’s not my kid, but wouldn’t it be lovely if she built her capacity for those things, too? Because her capacity to handle the bad stuff is far too good, in my view.’

I stare at him, wondering if Yoda has somehow embodied my hot boss. ‘Athena said something similar a while back, when she played Father Christmas with this crazy tent,’ I muse, recalling how hard her words hit me at the time. ‘She said it was about building an abundance mindset for Tabs, so she knew to believe the magical stuff was possible.’

He smiles at me, and to my surprise, reaches up to stroke my face with his fingertips. ‘Yeah. Well, she’s a lot more articulate than me. But that’s exactly right. Surely a bit of magic can only be a good thing for a little rockstar like Tabs.’

I stare at him, drinking him in, every bone in my still-weary body aching to slump against him. To give up the fight and collapse.

He must be a mind reader, because he takes my bottle and puts both of them down by his feet. ‘Come here. You look knackered.’ He wraps his huge arm around me and pulls me into a sideways hug against his shoulder, and I go with the flow. I allow it, because this is a bubble, and weird stuff happens in bubbles.

‘You’re a rockstar too, you know,’ he says, planting a kiss on the crown of my head. ‘You deserve some magic, too.’