After Jenny stepped down, Dad congratulated her. The rally seemed to be winding up now.

‘Why don’t we go somewhere on Rundle Street for lunch?’ Caitlin said.

‘Sure,’ I said, my stomach rumbling. I hoped we’d end up at this little Vietnamese place I really liked.

I was buzzing after the rally, and thinking it was actually pretty good that Dad had taken me. ‘So cool that you were on the megaphone, Phoebe,’ he said as we crossed the traffic lights.

‘Absolutely,’ Caitlin said. ‘I wish I was that brave.’

I thought about what Caitlin said. I guess it was brave, but really, I was just caught up in the moment.

At some point during our walk to lunch I looked across the street and couldn’t believe it – Mum’s car was parked out the front of one of the restaurants! I did a double take. Mum was sitting at one of the tables with one of her friends. What the hell? I thought she said she was sick.

‘Hey Dad,’ I said, ‘do you give Jenny extra marks because she’s an environmentalist?’

I knew Dad loved speaking about teaching and hoped it might distract him from seeing Mum. If he and Caitlin saw her, it was all going to get pretty heavy.

‘I can’t give students extra marks because I like the things that they do,’ Dad replied sternly. ‘Not only is it unfair to other students, it’s a disservice to them. It’s really important to earn things, Phoebe. Only then can you really be proud of your achievements.’

While he was talking, my mind was on Mum. Was she brushing me off to have a drink with her friend? And then I considered the times I’d brushed her off to catch up with my friends. I was disappointed, but I figured I could let her off the hook a bit given that I was no angel.

We ended up eating at my favourite Vietnamese restaurant and Dad let me order a Vietnamese iced coffee despite Caitlin’s disapproval. And then we made it to the train station without any drama.

On the train ride home, Dad said, ‘You look a bit flustered.’

‘It’s been a big week,’ I told him.

‘How about we go down the esplanade to shoot some hoops after dinner?’

Dad had grown up in the country and he was always telling me about ways he’d learned how to deal with the city and stress, like getting down to the beach or being in nature as much as possible. It seemed like a good idea. ‘Sure.’

Maybe it was being down by the ocean, or maybe it was because he was working up a sweat, but Dad seemed happy and relaxed that evening. And with him really challenging me one on one, it took my mind off of seeing Mum out the front of the restaurant with her friend earlier.

When the sun started to set, Dad said, ‘Want to get an ice cream before we head home?’