‘You’re Alex’s wife?’ That sounded wrong. Of course it was her – I had only seen her in the distance before. ‘I’m sorry – I thought you’d split up?’

‘We have a child, you know. There he is! Look at him.’

Reluctantly, I looked at the car she was pointing to, a child’s wan face at the window. Sam. His eyes fixed on me, the woman who’d stolen his dad. I tried to de-escalate the situation.

‘Anna – it’s Anna, right? Let me get this straight. You haven’t broken up? You’re telling me you’re still together? As far as I know, you split up some time ago and he’s single.’

‘He’s still married to me, you know.’

‘Well, yes, technically.’

I was trying to soothe her, my eyes darting about for a way out. She was blocking the pavement. A crowd of nosy passers-by had gathered, and a Co-op employee who looked all of seventeen had come out, in a black and green fleece.

‘Look, I’m really sorry, I know it must be hurtful. But please, you should talk to Alex, not me.’

‘Talk to Alex? Sure, I’ll do that, because he’s so easy to talk to. Definitely doesn’t twist my words or make me sound crazy or anything like that.’

She did sound crazy, and I thought so at the time. Deranged by rejection and refusing to accept it – we’d all been there, hadn’t we? It’s what Alex had said later, when I told him about it. He swore he hadn’t told her about us. I don’t know how she found out. She’s crazy, Rachel. She can’t accept it’s over.

I was backing away. As soon as a gap came in the traffic, I would run. ‘I – I’m sorry.’

‘Look, I don’t want you near him, OK? Stay away from my family.’

I had run then, skidding into the road, a car blaring its horn at me, my only thought to get away from there and the gawking crowd that had gathered. I wished now I could go back, and walk Anna away somewhere private, and ask her to tell me exactly what she meant.