Amber had successfully prodded my maternal guilt gland. I thought of the frosting of freckles across Jake’s soft cheeks, and the way Zoe liked to wear her wild hair up, in a wiry strawberry-blonde halo. I loved them so much, but . . .

‘My kids no longer need me. Anyway, all my life I’ve censored my behaviour – either worried what Mum would think or what my husband would think, or what my kids would think, or what society would think . . . Well, what I think now is that my kids are leading their own lives, so why can’t I live a little? Zoe’s on her gap year. And Jake’s moving in with his apprenticeship pals. As it is, I only ever see them when they want to borrow my car,’ I joked. ‘My ship’s come in – literally. Can’t you be just happy for me?’

Once more, the only sound was the jacuzzi, fizzing and frothing. Even the hot tub seemed to be hissing its disapproval.

‘Haven’t you ever wanted to shake off the labels that have been slapped on you your whole life – loving daughter, doting wife, devoted mother, reliable co-worker – to do what you want and not what is wanted of you? Is that so bad?’

Hiss, hiss, went the hot tub.

‘Can’t one of you say something?’

‘What I can say is,’ Emerald began, ‘the only thing you’re divorced from is reality. Running away with a man you’ve known for only a few weeks is the most reckless, insane, stupid bloody idea you’ve ever had. And, as your older sister, I completely forbid it.’

‘Seconded,’ said Amber, firmly.

I shook my head. First, in amazement that my older sisters were agreeing on every goddamned thing; and secondly because, for once, I was not going to do what they told me to. All my life my sisters had known they could get me to do anything, mostly because I so wanted them to like me. I was six years old when they got me to steal money out of Mum’s purse, and seven when they made me hide a visiting priest’s towel so he’d have to streak from the bathroom to his guest bedroom. It had only taken me fifty years to work up the courage to defy them. I’d finally reached the twelfth step of my low-self-esteem program. ‘Hello, my name is Ruby Ryan and I am no longer a low-self-esteem addict.’