‘I’m not the one who should be apologizing!’ he yelled, standing so abruptly, three pink velvet cushions fell to the floor. I picked up the one that landed near my foot and cuddled it close to me. ‘I’m not the one who fucked off to London on a whim without even discussing it first. You disappear for days, waltz back in and you want me to apologize to you?’

‘It was a job, not a jolly,’ I replied, as Stew booted the other cushion across the room. ‘And I tried to discuss it with you but as I recall, you didn’t seem that interested.’

‘Because I didn’t want you to go,’ he roared, swirling his arms around like one of those weird inflatable things they kept outside car dealerships. ‘I didn’t want you running off to London, chasing your old life, because that’s what’s making you unhappy. Living in the past. I’m not a photographer any more and you’re not some fancy executive assistant. This is where we live, this is who we are, why can’t you accept that? This is your lot, Fran, why can’t you settle for what you’ve got?’

I looked up at him from the armchair, my mouth hanging open in shock.

‘You can’t be serious?’ I replied. ‘Because that’s the most depressing thing I’ve ever heard anyone say in my entire life.’

He slapped away the empty air with a frustrated grunt. ‘Look at what you’ve got, a home, a family, me. Why isn’t that enough?’

‘Because it’s not really my home and it’s not really my family,’ I said, forcing the words out slowly and clearly. ‘And you say I’ve got you, but do you even really want me?’

Stew’s mouth collapsed in on itself, lips turning inwards as he considered the question.

‘You’re being ridiculous. I proposed, didn’t I?’ he replied, but some of the force was gone from his voice. ‘Where exactly were you this week, Fran? What is going on? How have you been gone five days and come back a completely different person?’

‘I have changed,’ I agreed, letting go of the cushion and placing it behind me on the chair. ‘But not in the last five days. It just took getting away for a bit to see how much I’ve changed. And you have too, that’s how life works. We’re not the same people we were twelve years ago, and honestly, it would be weird if we were. But we’re supposed to change and grow together and that’s not happening, is it?’