‘Sit, sit,’ she instructs and I do, while she swans serenely about my untidy kitchen making tea.

‘No Greg?’

‘He’s fishing.’ And while I’m in confessional mood, I add, ‘Things aren’t all that great here either.’

‘Oh, Annie. You’ve always had such a good marriage.’

A good marriage, I’ll agree. But not a perfect marriage like Chelsea’s, with a wealthy husband who knows the meaning of the word ‘romance’, and a big house and two model children.

‘He doesn’t want me to do this charity trek to the Inca Trail.’

‘I’m surprised that you’re still thinking of doing it.’ She casts a pointed glance at my gammy foot.

‘I can’t just give up my dream at the first hurdle,’ I protest. Even though I think there might actually have been more than one hurdle, if I were to count them. ‘My foot should be better by then.’ I decide to go for broke. ‘My main problem is money. Lauren and I had been doing car washing.’ I opt to miss out the Bunny Girl aspect. There are several things that Chelsea is best not knowing. Though it’s possible that Stephanie whatever-her-name-was could rat on me again. ‘That’s obviously out of the question now.’

‘Obviously,’ Chelsea agrees.

‘There’s one other thing.’ My cheeks redden. ‘That cheque you gave me – for a hundred pounds.’ I sort of grind to a halt.

‘Yes?’

‘Well, it bounced.’

Chelsea looks taken aback, as I knew she would. ‘There must be some mistake.’

‘That’s exactly what I thought. Bloody banks.’

‘Indeed. I’ll give you another one.’ Chelsea’s cheeks have coloured up too, and she avoids my eyes by delving into the depths of her handbag. I could bite out my own tongue for having raised it with her. She’ll be mortified.

‘Damn,’ she says. ‘No chequebook. Can I give it to you another time?’

‘Any time,’ I say. ‘I’m just really grateful for any donation.’

Then we sit awkwardly for a moment and I can’t help myself as I ask, ‘Everything is okay, Chelsea?’

‘Of course,’ she assures me briskly. ‘Some glitch at the bank.’

‘I didn’t just mean that. You never told us that you were coming home. It’s all a bit unexpected. Is everything else all right?’

‘Fine. You shouldn’t be worrying about me. You’ve got enough on your plate.’

And with that reminder, my worries rush back. ‘I hate being tight for cash.’ I wish I had an enormous bank account that I could just dip into, but I don’t. ‘I’m not sure what else to do to raise the money.’

‘Have a trawl through your wardrobe,’ my sister advises as she hands me my tea. Cup, not mug, I note. I’m not even sure where I keep my cups. ‘Put some of your old designer gear on eBay.’