Seth was not quite as happy about the new arrangement, however, and while he never asked her outright to look for somewhere else to live, he did refuse to stay over, or even to visit. It would feel weird, he said, because the professor was his teacher, someone with whom he shared a mutual respect, and so Bonnie continued to spend at least three nights each week at her boyfriend’s overcrowded shared house instead, which had grubby plates piled in the sink, overflowing ashtrays on every surface and a collection of bras pinned up like streamers in the lounge – trophies from his flatmates’ various sexual conquests.

As she wrote all of this down for the daughter she had not seen since birth, Bonnie couldn’t help but reflect on how much the world had changed. She was glad that Tui was far more interested in reading books than staring at her phone all day, and hoped that her first daughter would turn out to be the same. Given Evangeline’s adoptive father’s profession, there was no way she wouldn’t have been encouraged to read a lot as a youngster, but Bonnie had always wondered if the pressure of having such a famous character based on her would have affected the girl negatively.

The popularity and success of David Nash’s Evangeline And … books was so widespread that it was impossible even for Bonnie, sheltered as she was from the wider world out in Glenorchy, not to have become aware of them. She had bought the first few for Tui, who she hoped would meet the real Evangeline someday. If Bonnie could just get this next bit right, then perhaps her elder daughter would consider a visit. The idea of her two girls being together in the same room or, even better, becoming something close to friends, made Bonnie’s heart leap. But that was all a long way off. First, she had to face Evangeline and explain not only why she left her behind, but why she had chosen now to come back. There was a very real chance that her daughter would refuse to listen, that she might be too screwed up by resentment to even hear Bonnie out. It was a terrifying prospect, but Bonnie knew that she must at least try – if not for herself, then for Tui. Because the future was uncharted territory, its waters dark and choppy, and she knew that everything could change in a single moment.

Bonnie shifted her position on Tracey’s sofa. Like many of the furnishings in her old friend’s home, it was the faded pink of marshmallows and easily as squishy. Continuing this theme, the Christmas tree, which was standing proud in the front bay window, was also decorated solely in pink tinsel and baubles. The overall effect should have been garish, but actually, Bonnie found it to be oddly soothing.