He was still watching as she opened the fridge to find the butter, and then the cupboard where the jar of peanut butter was kept.

‘I don’t know how you can eat that disgusting stuff,’ he said. ‘It can’t be good for you, all that fatty oil.’

‘It’s good fat,’ she said, ‘I’m sure I read somewhere that it’s good for me and the baby.’

‘Says the girl who’s been out partying all night,’ he said disdainfully. ‘Is that good for you and our baby too?’

‘It was my leaving do, Rick, I’m allowed that, aren’t I?’ The toast now ready, she began spreading the butter onto it. Except it was so cold from being in the fridge, she had practically to hack chunks off to put on the toast.

‘But you should have checked your mobile,’ he insisted. ‘Just once would have been enough to put my mind at rest. But oh no, you were having far too good a time without me to think about that. Which is just another example of your selfishness. You never think about anyone but yourself, do you?’

‘That’s so not true, Rick. I’m always thinking of you. That’s why I told Mum today that I’d have to check with you first about going to stay with her for a few days.’

He stared at her. ‘I can’t possibly take any time off work at the moment to go traipsing down to Sussex.’

Dolloping a generous amount of peanut butter onto the first of the two slices of toast, she chose her next words with care. ‘Mum thought that would be the case, so she’s suggested I go on my own. It’s my last chance before the baby comes to do something like this. It’ll only be for a few days. A sort of mini-break.’

He shook his head. ‘Absolutely not. At this stage of your pregnancy I don’t want you going anywhere without me.’

‘But you’ll be at work all day and I’ll be stuck here alone with nothing to do.’

‘Stuck?’ he repeated. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘It means I’ll be here twiddling my thumbs just waiting. It’ll be so boring for me.’

‘You’ll be doing what you should be doing and that’s resting.’

‘But I’d be resting down at Mum’s.’

He shook his head as though she had just said something incredibly stupid. ‘Oh, Willow, is this how it’s always going to be?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘You disagreeing with me and doing as you please and not giving a damn about my feelings or what I want. Just as you did tonight. Just as you always do.’

There was a marked change to the tone of his voice. Thankfully the anger had drained away; now he just sounded exasperated with her. Or perhaps disappointed in her. Yes, that was it. He felt she had let him down. And let herself down too. Dad had said that about her when she’d gone home to tell her parents that she was giving up on university, that it simply wasn’t for her. ‘Oh, Willow,’ he’d said, ‘you’ve let yourself down again, haven’t you?’