Louise applied another smudge of eyeshadow before she put the brush down on the bathroom counter and picked up the glass of Prosecco.

‘Something doesn’t look right,’ Louise said, looking back at the mirror.

‘It all looks right.’ April was definite.

‘But it doesn’t look like me,’ Louise said, trying hard to pinpoint what was wrong.

‘You know what I think?’ April said, coming to put an arm over her shoulder and giving Louise’s reflection a considering look. ‘I think you’re normally drunk when we get ready. What you’re seeing is Sober Louise in her going-out clothes, and it’s freaking you out because you’ve never seen her like this before.’

Louise gave a laugh and wondered if April was right. She studied herself again, and thought about all the times they’d done this, when she’d looked at herself through a haze of alcohol and felt fantastic.

She realised that she wasn’t smiling, either, and that was a wrong note. Drunk Louise always smiled. She was fun, and she never cared if her lipstick wasn’t just right.

Sober Louise took the Prosecco and swallowed a large mouthful. ‘I’m not going to be Drunk Louise tonight, but I definitely don’t want to be Sober Louise.’ She gave a small belch as the bubbles came back up and laughed again. ‘Allow me to introduce you to Tipsy Louise. Tipsy Louise is a lot of fun, too, but she knows her limits.’

‘I want to be like Tipsy Louise,’ April said, and then drained her glass. She was already pouring another one before Louise had managed another mouthful. ‘Only I guess I don’t want it that badly …’

Louise watched her, thoughtfully. At this point in the evening it had always been about April bringing Louise out of herself. It was always her lively, dominant friend insisting that they needed to drink so that Louise could feel better. And for the first time, Louise wondered if that was really why April brought wine over and ordered round after round of tequilas.

‘How are you doing?’ Louise asked. ‘What’s going on with you?’

‘Oh.’ April gave a shrug. ‘All OK.’

‘You don’t seem … happy, now I have time to think about it.’

April laughed, but then she tipped the glass back again and swallowed, and Louise had the impression she might be swallowing back tears.

And then she said, ‘I don’t know. I guess I’ve just been … missing my sister. And worrying that things are changing without me somehow.’ She shook her head.

‘You haven’t seen Dee for a long time, have you?’ Louise asked her, gently.