As I pulled up in the drive with the twins, dance music throbbed incongruously from the sedate old house, the naked rose tree creeping carefully between the rattling windows. In the kitchen McCready was hiding behind the ironing board, the cat hunched at her feet; her tracksuit a bright vermilion today, matching the thread veins in her apple cheeks.

‘Awful lot of swearing going on,’ was all she would say, her mouth a tight line. She took the twins out into the garden as I began to lug the Hoover upstairs, pausing in the hall as I heard raised voices from the sitting room. It was Liam and James, I realised, though it was hard to decipher the conversation over the beat of the music. I was about to open the door when Liam said, ‘Don’t fucking tell her.’ I heard something else angry and incoherent, then I was sure he said, ‘I’m warning you.’

Fingers on the door handle, my stomach rolled queasily.

James replied, but I couldn’t hear him properly. After a few minutes, all I’d made out were James saying,’ … too much money’ and, ‘ … asking for trouble, mate.’

I breezed into the room. James was facing the door and saw me first, but Liam had his broad back to me and he jumped when I spoke.

‘Coffee, anyone?’

‘God, you scared me,’ Liam said guiltily as I went to kiss him. ‘I’d love one, sweetheart.’ He was particularly pasty-looking this afternoon, a great bear of a man wearing a red checked shirt that did nothing for his freckly complexion.

‘Late night?’

‘He’s been shagging that bird all night,’ James teased, who in comparison actually looked rested for once.

‘Which bird? The lovely Star?’

‘Who else?’ James said, a flicker of something passing over his face. Jealousy? I wondered, eyeing him.

‘Yeah,’ Liam flushed. ‘But not all night. Only till about four.’

‘Oh, only four? You slacker. God, those were the days, eh?’ I looked at my husband, but he didn’t meet my eye. Our sex life was non-existent since the twins.

‘He’s got it bad,’ James said, turning the music off. ‘You know, I’m not sure about that last track, Liam. It hasn’t got the – I dunno – the verve of the first few. What did Noel have to say?’

‘He quite likes it. Don’t love it, though.’ Liam looked rueful. ‘I think we all know it’s not quite there yet.’

‘Let’s take it in the studio and have a tinker.’

‘I wasn’t expecting to see you today,’ I said to Liam as he picked up his rucksack.

‘Just come up to sign some paperwork before my trip.’ James was nonchalant. ‘Come and have a listen if you fancy it.’

‘I’d hate nothing more, my darling,’ I joked. ‘Give me Fleetwood Mac any day.’

No one laughed.