When I walked into the house, Caitlin was rolling up her yoga mat. She walked over and kissed me on the forehead. ‘Once you’re out of those sweaty clothes, have a shower and then tell me all about training. You can help me get dinner ready.’ It felt kind of weird Caitlin kissing me – it wasn’t a usual thing – but she made it seem like she’d been doing it forever. It was such a simple thing and, somehow, it made me feel safe. Not that I was ever going to tell her that.

After I showered, I walked into the living room, expecting Caitlin to have a whole lot of vegetables on the counter for me to prepare. The house was silent.

I walked through to Dad and Caitlin’s room and knocked, in case Dad was home and he and Caitlin were up to something. ‘Yep,’ said Dad, and when I walked in he added, ‘Oh, Phoebe, can you give us a tick?’

And then Caitlin stepped out of the ensuite with the smell of weed wafting out after her. ‘Hey Phoebe,’ she said, looking sheepish.

I thought Caitlin might have smoked weed, although I’d never busted her before. I wondered what her yogi would think about her being a stoner. I stored what I’d witnessed away in my memory bank. I could feel the corners of my mouth turn up, thinking about holding this little discovery over Caitlin’s head the next time she started preaching to me about doing something reckless, or preaching about Mum. Even though I knew Mum deserved it sometimes, I still couldn’t cope with it coming from Caitlin.

Caitlin clapped her hands together. ‘Come on, let’s get dinner ready.’ She ushered me out of the room and made her way to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

I happily followed her to investigate what she was like stoned. As I kept an eye on her, I wondered why she took the risk of smoking weed while I was at home. I also wondered if Dad and Caitlin had found out about Mum losing her licence, and if Caitlin was getting high so she wouldn’t lose her cool.

I messaged Katie and Jane:

I tried not to laugh when Caitlin ate a banana, a pear and handfuls of almonds while she cooked. Her munchies were the only telltale sign of her being stoned. Apart from that, she didn’t miss a beat. When dinner was laid out on the table, she poured Dad a glass of wine and me some apple juice and soda.

Between mouthfuls of bean salad, Dad said, ‘Do you want to check out the Adelaide Lightning vs Sydney Flames game on the weekend?’

‘Sure.’ I looked at Caitlin and asked, ‘Are you coming?’ I’d never been to a basketball game with her before, and I suddenly thought it would be nice having her with us.