‘Yeah. He said it’s just because he’s got two important deals running side by side at the moment. He’s promised things will calm down once he’s landed them, and he’s even suggested that we could go on holiday when he gets his commission.’

‘That would be nice.’

‘Mm. I fancy somewhere all-inclusive, where the only decisions you have to make are what to eat and drink next. There’d need to be a crèche too, so we could dump the devil child in there. Anyway, enough of my griping. Are you working this weekend?’

‘Saturday, but not Sunday. Why?’

‘Just wondering whether we should go and visit the olds. It’s been a month, and Mum is starting to sound wistful when I talk to her.’

‘We could do. We’d need to check with the parasites to make sure they weren’t planning to be there at the same time. We don’t want to overwhelm them.’

‘I’ll call Brett and see what their plans are. You’re up for it in principle though?’

‘Sure.’

The fact that our parents divorced when Tash was fifteen and I was thirteen is not unusual, and neither is the fact that they’ve both remarried and we’re now part of a blended family. ‘Parasites’ is our affectionate term for our step-siblings, and one they use just as freely on us. What is unusual is the way it came about. Brett, his sister Maria and their parents were our next-door neighbours and, because we were all of a similar age, we used to play together a lot and were always round at each other’s houses. Indeed, I think Tash had a bit of a crush on Brett for a bit, but the stepbrother thing swiftly put an end to that.

Our four parents were also good friends, and barely a week went by without them having at least one social gathering together. What was a surprise was when Mum and Dad announced that they were going to divorce, that Mum was going to move in next door with Brett and Maria’s dad, and their mother was going to move in with us. Although the adults were, and still are, very amicable about the whole thing, it was a huge blow to us children. When we initially started referring to Brett and Maria as parasites instead of step-siblings, there was no affection in it at all, and for a long time it seemed like we’d never be friends again.