He leans forward on his elbows. ‘Feels like you left uni ages ago. Am I allowed to ask how graduation was?’

‘Gowns, speeches, lots of proud parents taking photographs.’

‘And was everyone there? All your old crew?’

‘Most of them. It’s graduation, you only get to do it once.’

He takes a bottle of sauce and screws up his face at the stickiness of the lid.

‘I saw Emma. She’s pregnant.’

He nods slowly then says, ‘I know.’

‘What?’ Her stomach plummets. How would he know? Is there maybe someone back in Harrow who knows both Emma and Lewis? Someone who would have gossiped?

The food arrives and he thanks the waiter. Then, rather than looking at her, he dumps the chips on each of their plates.

‘I don’t get how you know that?’

‘Because she called me.’ He looks at her, his expression so neutral. ‘A couple of days ago.’

‘Why would she call you?’ Why would he answer?

‘I don’t know why,’ he laughs and looks at the food, as if he expects them to carry on as normal.

‘Lewis?’ It’s embarrassing, the way her loud voice sounds over the generic world music, the way the eyes of others turn towards her.

‘You know what she’s like. She’s a drama queen. She was probably calling up every guy she slept with in the last year to freak them out. Get a bit of attention.’

‘But why would she call you? She’s been with Geoff, he’s her boyfriend, he’s been on the scene since before she left for Kenya. And even before then, there was another one.’

Lewis looks up at her, and frowns and Yvonne feels like she’s throwing her friend under the bus. But it’s the truth, there were other guys. So why did she call Lewis?

He pushes a plate towards her, the chips falling off. ‘She’s four months pregnant.’ He pulls his shoulders up and closes his eyes. ‘She’s four months. So that’s why she called me.’

Yvonne stops and tries to count back the months in her head, but at this moment she can’t even remember what month it is now, when they left uni, the last time Lewis and Emma would have been together. Surely it doesn’t add up. Yvonne tries to compose herself, to explain to Lewis why he doesn’t need to worry, and now that she looks at him properly, he does look worried.

‘She never even mentioned you, Lewis. When she told me she was pregnant she said it was Geoff’s. Of course, it’s Geoff’s.’

Lewis sighs. ‘Let’s hope so. But, I don’t know, Yvie.’

‘How could you two do this? How could you be so stupid?’

‘You think I need to hear this right now? You think I’m happy that one stupid mistake with some random girl could be about to fuck up my life.’