Tui peers at me through her lashes. She’s around the same height as me, with very dark brown, rather wild hair, large almond-shaped eyes and the small, upturned nose of a Ragamuffin cat. She’s no longer a little girl but not yet a woman, and her cheeks still carry the plumpness of youth, and I can see the indents of matching dimples on either side of her full lips. She is wearing a white vest top with a picture of Snoopy printed on the front, and tatty black shorts.

‘You’re a very pretty lady,’ she announces, startling me so much that I laugh.

‘Er, thank you,’ I say, feeling hopelessly touched. ‘I think you’re very pretty, too.’

Tui shrugs and then nods her head up and down rapidly.

‘Yes,’ she says, apparently in agreement, before lifting Beavis up towards my face.

‘This is my dog,’ she informs me proudly, her voice slurring even as she takes care to pronounce each word correctly.

‘He’s lovely,’ I tell her. ‘Very sweet. And I like his name, too – did you choose it?’

Tui nods solemnly. ‘No,’ she says, and Kit chuckles.

‘It’s nodding for yes and shaking for no,’ he reminds her, and Tui quickly shakes her head, making a low moaning sound as she does so.

‘She doesn’t like it when I point these things out to her, do you, Tui?’ he explains, and Tui nods again, this time looking more mischievous.

‘Who are you?’ she asks a moment later, pointing right at me. Griff laughs at this, and I make a half-hearted attempt to follow suit – anything to give me time to formulate an appropriate reply. I can’t exactly blurt out the truth, that I’m the half-sister she has never known existed.

‘My name is Evangeline,’ I say, settling for basic facts. ‘But my friends call me Genie.’

‘Gee-nie.’ Tui tests the word a few times, drawing out the first ‘e’ sound. ‘Genies live in lamps,’ she says, turning to Kit so that he can confirm it.

Before I can reply, Tui starts cackling with amused laughter, so loudly that Griff puts his hands over his ears in mock-horror.

‘Worse than that,’ jokes Kit over the din. ‘This Genie here lives in England!’

Tui bellows even more loudly at this, then steps forward and hooks her hand around the back of my head, pulling me against Snoopy and hugging me. She is surprisingly strong and, caught off guard, I wobble for a second, trying not to fall forwards.

‘Come on now, put the poor chook down,’ Kit says, prising Tui’s hand away from where it’s tangled in my hair. My hat has fallen off on to the ground, and he picks it up and gives it back to me.