Matt glances at Amy to see how she’s going to react. When she doesn’t say anything, he picks up the plates and balances them in a messy tower, stacking them on top of the forks.

‘Come on, guys. She needs to be there.’

Matt carries the debris from their meal into the kitchen. Amy squeezes her eyes shut.

‘Amy, she’s your sister. She’s devastated by what happened. Have you even seen her?’ Nick asks.

She shakes her head. ‘A couple of times since the funeral. She thinks I hate her.’

‘Understandable,’ Nick says. They sit in silence for a moment. She doesn’t know if he means it’s understandable they haven’t met up, or understandable that she can’t bear being with her sister any more. ‘I know what she’s doing, from following her on Instagram,’ he adds. ‘You two were always closer than me and Bee. You can’t let that go.’

He’s right, of course. Her sister, who is thirty-four, is only two years younger than her. Nick was the baby of the family. He’ll be thirty this year. The kitchen door slams as Matt goes into the garden. He used to love it: on fine evenings he’d potter about out there, mowing the lawn, digging over flower beds, scrubbing the algae from the patio paving stones. Now it’s feral: a riot of bindweed and brambles; there are holes in the trampoline netting, and ash saplings have invaded the plant pots.

‘And what about—’

‘We can’t leave him behind.’

‘I can’t, Nick.’

‘It wasn’t his fault.’ Nick sounds like a robot. She’s lost count of the times he’s said that to her.

‘I don’t know how you can even say that. After what happened.’

He sighs. ‘He’s our dad. He’s getting older. We need to look after him.’

‘That’s not the point. If he’d only accepted that it was his fault and apologized.’ Nick looks down at his hands. ‘No. There’s no way he can come with us,’ she continues. ‘And don’t even think about asking Matt. He’d kill Dad, if he turned up.’ She takes a sip of her wine and rubs her eyes. ‘It’s a good idea to go away, though. I don’t want to stay here with the kids on my own.’

The credits to The Show start rolling over Bethany, her male co-star and the new girl – Tiffany – who seems to have replaced her. Bethany is waving manically.

‘Bethany Flowers,’ Nick says in a faux announcer’s voice, as if their sister were a movie star. And then in his normal voice he adds, ‘I don’t think she likes being on regional telly. Not quite the viewing figures. Do you want me to ask her about going on holiday?’ He glances sideways at her. ‘Assuming Matt agrees.’