‘Out of sync?’ I was trying to be outraged, but found myself sitting in one of the children’s chairs, my coat’s hem limp on the ground, the toes of my pumps pointing at one another. My handbag was in my lap.

Deidre sat too. She reached out and touched my arm. ‘They’re so mysterious, kids. Aren’t they? They have their own little worlds. Who can keep up?’

Her face was so close that I could see all the broken veins, like little purple lightning forks, in the ruddy terrain of her skin. I felt my anger collapse in on itself; I couldn’t get it out. It felt like my throat was closing over.

‘Are you feeling okay, Dr Tomlinson?’ Deidre asked. She stroked my arm. ‘Do you want some water? Gaby, could you be an angel and fetch Dr Tomlinson some water?’

Gaby was only too happy to leave the room. ‘Of course,’ she said, flashing her gums. ‘Take your time.’

Deidre sat back in her chair, using the expanse of her gut as a kind of armrest.

‘He’s a beautiful little kid,’ she said. ‘Sammy. Just gorgeous.’

No-one had ever called him Sammy.

I felt fuzzy-headed; I was struggling to remember why we were there. It was those nature sounds. They were getting under my skin. This was why I didn’t trust relaxation of any kind.

‘Hm,’ was all I could manage.

She leaned towards me. Something she’d applied to her body contained a high percentage of ylang-ylang.

‘I’ve told Connor over and over. Sammy’s a gem. Such a funny little kid. Such an original.’ She clucked with laughter at a private memory of some amusement my son had afforded her.

Gaby came back in and gave me a biodegradable cup filled with chilled water that had had the fluoride filtered out. With her was a dour, strawberry-blonde child with a downturned mouth and chubby cheeks. I had to admit it: the child was adorable.

‘Look who I found!’ said Gaby.

‘Luna-bear,’ said Deidre. The child wandered over with a strange, knowing weariness and flopped her weight into the pillow of her mother’s belly. ‘There you are.’

The child stared at me.

‘I think,’ said Gaby, joining us in the circle of tiny chairs, ‘now that everyone’s here, we ought to talk about what happened today. Just so everyone’s feeling okay about it. How does that sound?’

‘With the child here?’ I said.

‘Of course,’ said Deidre. ‘This concerns her. She should be part of the conversation. Feel free to bring Sammy in. If you’re happy for him to be woken up.’

We all gazed into the other room, where Samuel slept, untroubled.