When Harry came home early Friday evening, he had three bags from the shops at Summerlin. Kirsten was barefoot in the kitchen, wearing a sequinned black dress and a chunky gold neck chain worth a stupid number of dollars.

‘I thought you loathed that necklace,’ Harry said, striding across an enormous black quartz floor to raid a $30,000 Sub-Zero refrigerator.

‘Kent Clark bought it for me when we won Best Overall,’ Kirsten explained. ‘It’s too bling for my tastes, but it’s his seventieth birthday, so I’ve gotta wear it …’

‘Have they fixed the pool?’ Harry asked, grabbing a dish of shepherd’s pie. ‘Is this still OK?’

Kirsten nodded. ‘It’s today’s batch from my pub. Pop it in for thirty-five minutes. Please try to eat the vegetables with it. And the pool guy says they don’t have the parts in stock to fix the filter.’

Harry turned his nose up at a dish of cauliflower and broccoli, then shut the fridge and turned on the oven.

‘Is Chopper Bill going with you?’ Harry asked, smirking because his aunt’s latest boyfriend was a perma-tanned tourist helicopter pilot twenty years her junior.

‘You like Bill,’ Kirsten reminded Harry sharply. ‘He’ll be here to pick me up in a bit. Why have you bought girls’ knickers?’

Harry looked round, and saw his aunt nosing inside his shopping bags.

‘Charlie messaged me her size,’ Harry explained. ‘All she’s got is manky prison issue.’

Kirsten had a special look of disapproval for when Charlie’s name got mentioned.

‘Is that a laptop?’ she asked, peeking inside a Fry’s Electronics bag.

Harry tutted and spoke in a mocking tone. ‘Thank you so much for asking, Auntie. My friend Charlie got out of prison today. I spoke to her after school and she seems to be doing great.’

‘Was that expensive?’ Kirsten asked, ignoring the sarcasm.

‘Like, three fifty,’ Harry said. ‘And it’s my money, from my job that paid for it.’

Harry showed his anger by making the shepherd’s pie crash on to the oven rack.

‘The top won’t get crispy if you don’t pre-heat,’ Kirsten warned.

‘Don’t care,’ Harry sulked.

‘So where are you driving off to see her tomorrow?’

‘North Vegas,’ Harry said. ‘When you meet Charlie, you might find that you like her.’

Kirsten opened her mouth like she was going to say something, sighed, then said it anyway.

‘I know you don’t want to hear this, Harry. But I worry about you doing so much for Charlie. I mean it’s cool that you’ve taken an interest in this poor girl’s life. But, let’s face it, you’re almost seventeen and you’ve not had a proper girlfriend. I’m worried that you’re heavily invested in a girl with a troubled past, who you barely know.’