‘Thomas, I’m sorry if I upset you, but I wanted to be the one to tell you.’

I wait, but still he doesn’t speak. He had doubted her and now she’s dead.

‘I know this is hard, Thomas. I’m going to hang up, and you can call me back when you’re ready to talk.’

I picture him nodding even though I can’t see him. Slowly I take the cell from my ear and press the screen. End Call.

I’m feeling slightly liberated when I hear Jeff opening the door. He looks surprised to see me standing there smiling.

‘You look a lot better,’ he says, glancing at the cell in my hand. ‘Who was that?’

‘That was my brother-in-law,’ I say, feeling weirdly excited. Almost ecstatic. I have a real family, one where I rightly belong. It makes me feel so much better now that I know my identity. The last few days had left me feeling like a plastic bag being tossed by the wind – go here, no, here, no here.

‘What did he say?’ Jeff asks, tossing his leather coat onto the back of the couch and heading straight for the refrigerator. He grabs a handful of leaves and walks over to the rabbits.

‘Nothing.’

‘Nothing?’

‘Not a word.’

Jeff turns to look at me. ‘How did that work?’

So I tell him about the call, and it’s obvious I’m a little too excited for Jeff’s liking.

‘Becca, don’t get upset if he doesn’t ring back. This is all a massive trauma for him. It may be a while before he welcomes you with open arms, if he ever does.’

Jeff has gone all sensible. Trying to prepare me for the worst, I guess. But what if Thomas Collins doesn’t want to talk to me, or get to know me, or let me meet baby Louise? I hadn’t thought of that.

‘One thing at a time, Becca,’ Jeff says.

He’s right, I know. I need to calm down and not let my new identity fool me into thinking this world is my friend.

I sit at the counter watching Jeff take ingredients out of the cupboards. He’s making me eat again. I fill him in on how events unfolded earlier at Oakridge. Jeff assures me that I’d be more likely to regret not saying I forgive her than saying it, and that I shouldn’t lose too much sleep, because it doesn’t really matter. I’m not sure I agree with him.

‘You have to make a decision, Becca. Only you can decide whether to go to the funeral or not.’

‘I know. It’s so hard, though. I didn’t realize how hard until today, when I had to stand with Dad and Danny, pretending… when all I wanted to do was run away. What if I feel that way at the funeral?’