Part of me was relieved that she’d finally found out from someone else; I wasn’t sure how to bring it up with her.

‘I’m fine. I think it’s for the best.’

‘You do?’

‘Uh-huh.’ I tucked a loose bit of hair behind my ear. ‘Listen, Mum, I’m just with a friend. Shall I call you about it tomorrow?’

‘A friend?’ she said, her tone changing to one of slight amusement. ‘I’m glad that you’re OK, sweetie. You know you can always call us. We’ll always be here for you, no matter what.’

‘I know, Mum. I’ll call you tomorrow. Love you.’

‘Love you.’

We said our goodbyes and I hung up, slipping my phone in my back pocket.

‘Wow. Must be nice having your parents check up on you like that.’

‘She bumped into Scott’s mum today. I hadn’t told her that I’d broken up with him.’

‘Why not?’

I shrugged and took a seat next to him.

‘I don’t know … because I’d been so adamant in the past that Scott was the man I was going to marry. I guess I felt a bit foolish that they were right about things.’

Joel reached into the cooler and offered me a bottle of beer. I held up the Bacardi Breezer that I was only halfway through. It was warm and sickly but I hadn’t really felt like drinking.

‘It sounds like they just wanted to make sure you were OK.’

‘I know. I think that makes it worse though. You know, more than them crowing I told you so like I thought they would.’

Joel laughed.

‘What about your parents?’ I said, wanting to change the subject. ‘What are they like?’

Joel didn’t often talk about them. I knew they were divorced, and Joel had mentioned one time that his dad lived abroad and he’d see him during the school holidays, but he never gave too much away.

‘They’re not like that. We’re not massively close. My mum always seemed to be spinning so many plates when I was growing up, with her work and looking after me on her own, I guess I got in the habit of not wanting to burden her with any of my problems.’

‘And your dad?’

He flicked the top off a new bottle of beer with a bottle opener.

‘I rarely see him. He doesn’t come back to the UK very often, too cold and too rainy for him. He’s all right when we do meet, but it’s very much out of sight, out of mind with him.’

‘He’s a captain, right?’

He swigged at his beer.

‘Yeah, on a yacht.’

‘Is he the one that taught you to sail?’