She paced back and forth, waiting. Regretting that she’d called. Going over and over in her head how she might tell the story of the Tamagotchi phone in a way that would get her exactly what she wanted. She was a little unsure what it was she wanted. But she’d spent a lot of time trying to work it out in her head. She would say this and then Heidi would say that, and she would reply with this. Heidi would probably be sarcastic. Maybe that was why she’d decided to tell her and not anyone else. There were lots of people she could tell. She walked back and forth. She walked all around the house.

She went into the bedroom and was startled by a loud noise outside. She looked out the window and saw Greta and Peggy. They were walking past on the street outside. They were shouting at each other. It looked like they could be fighting or laughing. It had been so long. She ran into the office and thumped on the window as they passed. They didn’t hear her. Or they pretended not to hear her. She ran out the front door and out the gate and she was in front of them and they didn’t acknowledge her. Maybe they were angry at her? She didn’t want to speak, because she was unsure of what she was seeing. Then they walked past her. She fitted into the space between them. It was hardly enough space, but they passed her without touching her. Maybe they turned slightly, at the exact moment they passed her, and that made enough room for her. Margaret turned, heart thumping, breath racing. She watched them walk away from her for as long as she could and then they turned a corner and were gone.

‘Hey.’ It was Heidi. She was standing in front of Margaret like she’d come out of nowhere.

Margaret changed her focus to see her. Heidi had been walking towards her as Greta and Peggy walked away, and now she couldn’t get past her to follow them.

‘Whoa. Have you eaten?’ Heidi said, not in a caring way. She had an odd look on her face, like she’d a gutsful of today, like someone had fucked her off and she wasn’t going to take another ounce of anyone’s shit.

Margaret looked behind Heidi now. They were definitely gone. ‘Did you see them?’ she said.

Heidi looked over her shoulder, then back at Margaret, then over her shoulder again. ‘Who?’

Margaret didn’t want to say it until Heidi said it, and Heidi wasn’t going to say it. She could see that now.

‘I passed a couple of women,’ Heidi said, ‘and a guy walking a dog.’ She was looking back now, talking to Margaret but looking back to where she’d come from.