‘Sounds like you’re better off without him,’ Bonnie had told her, then confessed that she, too, was now single, having been unable to make things work with Tui’s father Simon. Far from being hurt by their eventual break-up, though, Bonnie had felt relieved when he packed his things and moved out of the bungalow. That had been almost ten years ago, and she hadn’t felt the inclination to date anyone else since. She had learned from her very first relationship just how damaging it can be to have your trust abused, and it was a lesson Bonnie had been unable to forget. She and Simon had always made it work with Tui, right from the minute he left, and Bonnie still considered him a friend. He had cheated out of desperation, he told her – he thought that it might get her attention. If she had loved him in the way he wanted her to, then perhaps his ridiculous plan might have worked. But she didn’t – she never really had. Simon was better off with his new wife than he had been with Bonnie, and Tui was happy to spend time at both her homes, with both her families.

It was no good, Bonnie thought to herself – she was never going to get back to sleep – not now the cogs of her mind were whirring. Crossing the room to the desk and collecting her biro and paper, she folded herself back under the covers and began to write.