“You said it yourself. My dad doesn’t need me anymore. For the first time ever he remembered to put cheese in Molly’s sandwiches and he even packed a drink. He never remembers a drink.” She rubbed her face with her fingers, leaving behind a muddy streak. “He’s always been pretty hopeless at the domestic stuff—I mean, he tries, but he’ll put laundry on and forget to put it in the dryer so it comes out smelling of wet dog, even though we don’t have a dog. He has no idea that Molly wets the bed still—” She flushed and glanced at Flora. “I promised her I wouldn’t tell anyone.”

“I won’t say anything, I promise.” But it broke her heart to think of it. “I used to wet the bed, too.”

“You did?”

“Yes. After my mom died. But I knew my aunt would be mad so I tried washing them myself. But that was a disaster, so for a few months I slept on the bathroom floor because it was easier to clean.”

“Seriously? That’s bad.”

“It wasn’t the best time, but you do what you have to do.”

“Yeah, you do.”

They sat close, shoulder to shoulder.

“I don’t blame my aunt. It was really tough on her having me. She was a single woman with a job she loved and she ended up with a child she never asked for.”

“But that wasn’t your fault. It’s not like you asked for it to happen.”

“No. Lots of the tough things that happen in life aren’t anyone’s fault. In the end you just have to handle it best you can. You know all about that. Molly’s lucky that she has you to change her sheets and hug her. She’s so happy and well-adjusted, and that’s down to you.”

“She yelled at me this morning.”

“And she has the confidence to yell because she knows how much you love her. The fact that you love her makes her feel secure. And it’s because she knows you love her that she is happy to be around me. If she didn’t feel secure, she’d be clinging to you.”

“Do you think so?”

“I know it.”

Izzy looped her arms round her legs. “Maybe. She clung at the beginning. I actually liked it. Is that pathetic?”

That honest admission brought an ache to Flora’s chest. “No. It’s human to want to be loved, but you are loved.”

Izzy scrambled to her feet and paced to the edge of the water.

Flora wondered if there was something else going on here.

“Izzy?”

Izzy rubbed her hands over her arms. “He’s pushing me to go to college. He wants me to leave.”