I was waiting for her to say that I could use it if I wanted to, but she didn’t. I guessed I’d give it a try when she wasn’t around. And then I was about to ask for permission to use it when Dad walked in from work. He placed his bag on a lounge chair and said, ‘Hi bub,’ to me as he walked straight to Caitlin. He kissed her and they held each other, looking deeply into each other’s eyes. Vomit, I thought, although I was a little jealous. I kind of wanted someone to look at me like that.

‘Phoebe’s tryouts went well,’ Caitlin told him.

‘Really?’ Dad asked softly, breaking away from Caitlin and coming over to kiss me on the forehead.

‘Yeah, it was pretty good. Everyone kept passing me the ball.’

‘That’s great. And what’s the team like?’

‘They’re strong.’

‘I’m sure you’ll get a start, right?’ Dad said with a smile.

I shrugged, knowing that I’d have to try really hard to make the team. ‘I’m going to give it my best shot,’ I said.

I sat down at the dining table. Caitlin looked at me hesitantly. I could tell that she was about to say something and then thought the better of it.

‘What is it, Caitlin?’ I prompted.

‘You know, if you’re interested, you could come to a yoga class with me? It might be really good training for basketball.’

I screwed up my face, but I was half interested.

‘A lot of athletes are doing yoga to improve their strength, balance and focus,’ she continued.

‘I’ll think about it,’ I told her. She gave me a look that I knew meant, set the table.

As I was doing so, Dad announced, ‘I’ve got some good news. I’ve been invited to speak at a conference in Aotearoa next month.’

‘Cool!’ I said. ‘Where in New Zealand?’

‘Hamilton, but we’ll get to spend some time in Raglan.’

Dad had taken me to New Zealand before. He knew how much I loved it. We did a surf lesson in Raglan and we went to these hot springs nearby.

‘Can we go to the hot springs again?’

Dad looked sheepish. ‘The thing is, Phoebe, it’s only for three days and during the school week. I was hoping you could stay with your mum.’

‘That’s not fair,’ I said, feeling completely ripped off.

‘Your first game is that week,’ he added.

Still not fair, I thought. Mum hadn’t called me all week and now Dad was taking off somewhere that I loved without me, but with Caitlin.

I basically threw the plates onto the table as I set it and turned back to the kitchen to get some glasses, passing Caitlin who was carrying a tray of fish, almost bumping into her.

‘Careful,’ she said very calmly.