“What are you guys planning to do on Saturday, anyway?” asked Sara, her eyes still fixed on the screen.

“I don’t know yet.”

She looked up in alarm. “You aren’t staying home, are you?”

“Well, it just so happens to be our home, you know. I don’t really feel like being kicked out by you and your friends. Your father might have to work, and I—” She stopped halfway through the sentence.

Sara looked at her expectantly.

Yeah, Helen, what are you going to do when your children throw you out on a Saturday night and your husband is at work, like he always is? The idea of going for a drink with Lex, just as friends, flashed through her mind. She dismissed it. “I don’t have any plans yet,” she said finally. “But if you don’t go to bed right now, I can guarantee you that you’ll find me sitting next to you guys on the sofa on Saturday night. I could do with a nice relaxing evening.”

Sara closed her laptop with a sigh and stood up. “You can be so exhausting sometimes, Mom.” She looked back over her shoulder at the door. In a bored tone, she added, “Good night.”

“Good night, honey.”

Helen watched her daughter in silence. No, she wasn’t a child anymore. Soon enough, Thom and Emma would go the same way as their big sister, and after that, she would be able to observe her children’s lives from the sidelines only.

And yet it still felt like just yesterday that she was pregnant with Sara. She and Werner had been terribly nervous and yet excited at the same time. Soon enough, a baby arrived—their baby. A child who would unite all their best qualities: Werner’s aristocratic jawline, and her blonde curls; his drive to achieve something in life, and her desire to mean something to other people. In their naiveté, neither of them had stopped to consider that this adorable little pixie who depended on them for everything might one day grow into a teenager with very different standards and ideas from those of her parents.

Helen thought back to May, when she had by chance discovered that Sara was stealing from her. It transpired that she had been sneakily taking a succession of small amounts of money out of her purse. All those small amounts had added up to a substantial sum, which Sara had used to buy makeup, perfume, and a handbag. Helen hadn’t confronted her daughter straightaway. She’d wanted to be absolutely certain. So she’d started counting the money in her purse at night. A few bucks had gone missing almost every morning, and very occasionally a bigger note too. And nothing was ever taken when Sara wasn’t at home.