‘I put you on the spot. I get it – it looks pretty suss that I’m asking you for money one minute and then Green Boots shows up frozen solid the next day. Listen, I asked you for the money because there’s a bag full of it, and I don’t think Michael deserves it, and, yeah, it would help me out with something. But it’s personal. Can we please talk about something else?’

‘You might not like the other topics of conversation I have in mind.’ That got a chuckle out of her. Friends again. ‘So, do you want to pretend to be interested in how I slept or if I enjoyed a podcast I listened to on the way up, to both of which the answer is “fitfully”, or do you want to choose between the Black Tongue or the Other Thing?’

‘Honestly, it’s not that big a deal.’ She tapped her spoon against the side of her mug as she talked; perhaps the rhythm of it was taking her mind off the memory. It seemed more like an action designed to look casual than a natural tic. ‘I’ve lost patients before.’

So, the Other Thing.

‘And don’t think that I mean that lightly, because I don’t. It sucks. Every single time. But surgery has complications. We’ve got amazing technology, and even better medicine, but there’re still risks in even the smallest procedures. You can get an embolism from a broken arm – you know that?’

‘Is that what happened?’

‘Look, I’m human. I’m doing a job. Some days are your best days, and some days not so good.’

‘Are you saying you made a mistake? You’re a fantastic surgeon, Sofia. Marcelo trusted you with his shoulder, and he needs that for slamming his fist on the table dramatically in court. That’s like operating on Beyoncé’s voice box.’

‘You’re overstating it somewhat, I think. And Dad’s – well, you know he likes to control things.’ The spoon tinked again. ‘I’ve replayed it in my head enough. I can honestly say that no, I didn’t make a mistake. I made the right choices in the moment. If I had to do it again today, I’d do it the same. The review will clear me. It’s just that the people involved are, well, a bit more in with the hospital administrators, so it’s dragging out. And that has set some tongues wagging.’