I’d spent the first part of the holidays with Jane and Katie, hanging out in the city and having sleepovers. I also spent a couple of days just chilling with Caroline.

Then Caroline took off for a camping trip with her family. Jane went to Brisbane and Katie went to Port Douglas with her parents. Now that Covid seemed to be a non-issue, everyone was keen to get as far away from home as possible.

I knew that if I just sat around at home doing nothing, I’d be bored out of my mind.

The yoga class was in an old hall on the main street of The Village.

‘Namaste,’ a woman said as we walked into the building, which was warm with a pot belly fireplace. Caitlin directed me to a storage space and handed me a yoga mat, bolster and blanket.

We lay next to each other and I copied Caitlin, lying with the bolster running along my spine and the warm heavy blanket draped over me. I could have fallen asleep, but soon the yoga instructor was stirring us to life with her calm, quiet voice.

I’d forgotten how difficult yoga is as I held my weight on my hands and stretched out my calf muscles in downward dog pose and then held my focus in warrior pose. It was no time at all before I was sweating and yanking my jumper over my head.

From time to time I gazed across at Caitlin, wondering what was going through her mind with all that determination on her face. I wondered if she was pissed off with Dad or Mum, not yet being able to find peace in her relationship with Dad. Maybe she was determined to get her yoga instructor qualification. Whatever it was, she was entirely focused in the class and all I was thinking about was what Caitlin was thinking about, while losing my balance and feeling weak.

At the end of the session, as we lay back beneath the blankets listening to dreamy music, I was pleased that I’d come. My muscles felt relaxed, and my spirit felt lighter. This is the best I’ve felt in sooooo long. I was so glad that I was feeling like I was.

We packed away our things and slipped into our shoes, in my case the ugg boots from Dad. On our way out of the class, Caitlin asked, ‘Are you up for coffee and breakfast?’

We sat at the markets, near the pub where Mum, Nana and I had had dinner last week. Dad was somewhere among the crowd doing some shopping and was supposed to be joining us for breakfast. Who knew how long that would take – he always got talking to people – so Caitlin and I ordered coffee and breakfast without him.