They last went to Hunstanton when Chloe was a baby. There are photos of her sitting on the sand in a cream frilly dress and matching sun hat with Emily surrounding her in sandcastles. Max drifted out so far in his inflatable dinghy, she lost sight of him and had to call the coastguard. He isn’t a strong swimmer, which makes her fear for him falling off that bridge.

They park in Old Hunstanton at lunchtime and carry their packed lunch in a wicker bag, holding a handle either side. On the beach, the droning whirr of a kite circles above. A man further up is pulling at two strings, making a colourful dragon dip and curve through the salt and pepper sky. She breathes in the salty air. They find a sheltered spot in front of a row of colourful beach huts and grassy sand dunes. Lunch consists of ham and pickle sandwiches and ready salted crisps followed by homemade fairy cakes and small bottles of sparkling water. After, Maddy lets Emily buy an ice cream from a shop along the front. The aroma of fresh fish and chips follows them as they stroll.

A weak sun begins to break through a cloud, illuminating the ghostly white posts of the wind farm out at sea. Emily sits under a blanket, her head in Maddy’s lap. There’s a brush in her holdall somewhere, one of those fold out types. Once she’s found it, Emily sits up in front of her and she brushes her hair while telling her the story of The Little Mermaid. Maddy stops and looks at the brush. It’s choked with a surprising amount of dark wavy hair. Surely, she can’t be losing this much? Could it be stress? Her own hair loss probably is. She hides the brush away and passes Emily her wellies, bucket and spade. She runs down to the water while Maddy follows at a slower pace, through shadowed dips in dry sand, of people who have come and gone. Further on it’s wet and the sand is crusted with millions of broken shells, giving a satisfying crunch under her feet. The tide is so far out, the water reflects a silver edge next to the black streak of mudflats.