I told them I’d be back in half an hour and went downstairs to Peter’s. I liked being in his flat; it was so obviously a home, rather than somewhere that was rented – the furniture was old and solid, pieces that Peter had picked up at auctions down the years, there were carpets that weren’t the cheapest you could get, and there were lots of framed prints and pictures hanging on nails he’d put in the walls. Also, the place had an atmosphere of calm that must have been something to do with Peter living alone there.

When I was working I listened to people as much as they wanted me to, but when I was with Peter, I was the talker. We sat in his dining room and had tea the old-fashioned way, from a teapot, and ate the courgette cake – which didn’t taste all that much of courgettes, a good thing in my view – and looked at the daffodils coming up in the garden. Then I told the story of how I’d cut Mark’s hair years ago and then our paths had crossed again and we’d started seeing each other, and explained that I’d recently decided to take the big step of introducing him to the girls.

Peter showed no obvious sign of smelling a rat. He said, ‘So what did they make of him?’

I shrugged. I couldn’t bring myself to pretend it had been an out-and-out success and anyway, when you’re lying, you’re meant to stick to the truth as far as possible.

‘Ava was frosty and Ellie overcompensated,’ I said. ‘And then Mark tried to draw Ava out and she accused him of ignoring Ellie.’

‘Oh dear. Was he?’

‘Not really. I mean, not consciously. He’s just feeling his way, you know? It’s a big thing for him.’

‘He doesn’t have kids, then?’

‘No. And before you ask, he’s divorced.’

‘I would have assumed that he was single and that you’re serious about each other,’ Peter said. ‘Given that you’ve introduced him to the girls. I hope he appreciates what a token of faith that is.’

‘Oh, I think he does,’ I said. ‘Anyway, I’m sure they’ll like him once they’ve had the chance to get to know him a bit better.’

‘So they don’t like him now?’

He said this with one eyebrow raised, as if to suggest that the whole situation was absurd and faintly comical. As if there wasn’t really that much at stake, and everything would sooner or later magically resolve itself.

‘They don’t like the idea of him,’ I said. ‘They’re not used to me having a man in my life. They’re used to Sean, basically. They think what men do is go away for longer and longer periods until they just show up once in a blue moon to take you out for dinner, and then promptly disappear again. But this is completely different. This is someone who wants to get closer. So naturally, the girls find it a bit strange. Also, you know, Mark’s very different to Sean. Solvent and sober, for a start.’