Libby was standing before me and I’d never even heard her coming. Why didn’t her boots crunch in the snow to warn me of her approach? I looked behind her and saw the reason. She’d walked in my footsteps so she wouldn’t have to battle to make her own. I indicated the swing beside me. Libby brushed off the snow that was centimetres thick and sat down. We looked at each other as we both rocked backwards and forward, not swinging, not twisting, just oscillating erratically.

‘Are you OK? You’ve been really quiet since the wedding,’ said Libby.

I shrugged.

‘Are you still not OK with my dad and your sister getting married?’

‘It’s not that I’m not OK with it,’ I denied, ‘but why the rush?’

‘Maybe Callie’s pregnant?’

‘That’s no reason to rush into marriage. Callie knows that. Mum and her dad, Callum McGregor, were never married.’ And there it was: the oh-so-familiar lump in my throat and the sting that came to my eyes whenever I thought about Mum.

Now it was Libby’s turn to shrug. ‘Maybe what happened to all of us three months ago made them decide not to wait for their happiness, but to grab it with both hands while they still could.’

Guess I could understand that. If nothing else, I’d learned the hard way that life was short so every opportunity should be snatched up and held tight, and those we love should be held tighter.

‘Now that my dad is married to your sister, we’re official!’ said Libby.

‘Officially what?’ I asked.

‘A soap opera!’ she chuckled.

She had a point. My expression remained sombre. Her smile faded. ‘Troy, what’s wrong? Talk to me.’

Silence.

I sighed and admitted, ‘My head is still all over the place. Ever since Mum died, I choke up when I think about what happened to her. And then I get so angry for the same reason. I miss her so much.’

‘I understand. You should hold on to that, no matter how much it hurts, because it’s coming from a good place. D’you wanna know something? And I wouldn’t admit this to anyone else, but I … I don’t miss my mum. Not even a little bit. D’you wanna hear a joke though? They say you can’t miss what you’ve never had, but that’s not true because I long for what we should’ve had but didn’t. Nana Meggie has been more of a mother to me than my own mum ever was. Every day, I’m reminded of what Misty did to me. How money mattered more to her than her own flesh and blood. I’m glad she’s gone. I’m better off without her.’ Libby looked thoughtful for a moment. ‘Does that make me a bitch?’

‘No, it makes you honest. And human.’