My sandwich was made of thick layers of ham. It was quartered, with the crusts cut off, and the quarters were held together by a toothpick with a paper frill on either end. There was a tomato, too, which had been halved by cutting it so that the edges made zigzags. I thought this was all very chic and appealing. I took a bite out of one of the quarters and chewed hard but the bread stuck to the roof of my mouth.

Viv and Ted had been talking in low, angry voices. Now she stood up and pushed away from the table. She stumbled but recovered herself and almost ran away towards the Ladies. Ted’s eyes didn’t follow her. Instead he leaned heavily towards me, the elbow of his blazer smearing the gems of gin. ‘All right there, Princess? What d’you make of this, then?’ His voice was slurred.

I tried to smile but I was distracted by how disgusting the ham and the thick sludge of bread tasted. The noise in the room had become deafening. There were red faces looming everywhere, all gaping mouths and bristly hair.

A minute later, it seemed, Viv was back again. She had been crying. Her eyes were teary and smudged. She grabbed Ted by his sleeve and began pulling him to his feet. He jerked her wrist and she tried to slap his face. When she couldn’t get her hand to connect she wrenched off her shoe and tried to stab him with the silver dagger heel. The red faces all turned in our direction. My head was swimming with shame and Martini fumes. I hated the bar and the people, and I was mortified to see my father and Auntie Viv fighting in public.

‘I want to go home,’ I blurted out. My words seemed to drop into a sudden pool of silence and the speeded-up film slowed to a dead stop. An age of time seemed to pass.

Then a woman at the next table leaned across to us. ‘You take her home, Ted. She ought to be safe in her bed. What would Faye think of you?’

The mere mention of my mother’s name in this place made tears run burning out of my eyes. Now Viv and I were both weeping.

‘You mind your own business,’ Ted snapped at the woman. But he and Viv let go of each other. Ted walked away and we followed him as best we could past the crowded tables to the door and out into the car park.

The cool air hit me in the face and made me so dizzy I almost fell over.