Bill fumbled in his jacket pocket for his ancient briar and a worn leather pouch. Waiting for him to fill the pipe and light it, which required numerous matches, reminded Martin of his own impatience years ago when their conversations were frequently interrupted while Bill lit and relit his pipe.

When eventually he resumed speaking his tone was stern. ‘I shudder to contemplate the damage already done, Martin, by your son’s living in the atmosphere he doubtless does. A couple remaining together for the sake of their child, or children, is a situation more harmful than protective. To which I might add that you and Moira could end up in the loony bin, if this state of affairs continues.’

‘Just so long as we have separate rooms, Moira would say to that, since it’s already our modus vivendi. And if that’s where they put religious maniacs she is certainly headed there,’ Martin declared.

‘You didn’t include the latter in what you told me.’

‘You’re Catholic like she is. The last thing I want is to offend you—’

‘Something of a lapsed Catholic nowadays, Martin, Sukey too, and we haven’t allowed Mary Lou to grow up with the fear of eternal damnation instilled in us. When we were sharing unwedded bliss in the sexual revolution the sixties was, Sukey went on calling it “living in sin” and had to steel herself to go to confession.’

Bill paused to fidget with his pipe. ‘Lapsed I may be, Martin, but I haven’t forgotten the hold my religion is liable to exert on those who allow it to—’

‘The same could be said for Jews and Muslims, Bill. As on a less personal scale the militant settlers on the West Bank, and the Ayatollah’s followers are currently demonstrating!’

‘But returning to the highly personal—’

‘I was about to. If Moira and I split up, there’s no chance of me getting my lad without standing up in court and revealing his mother is going off her head. I couldn’t do that to Moira, Bill, and voluntarily she wouldn’t let me have our son. Church and work, in that order, are what her life revolves around. There’s nothing I can do to change things, but nor can I allow A.P. to be raised by her without me there. That’s the impasse I mentioned, as you’ll now gather.’

‘But were you going over the top when you called her a religious maniac?’

‘There are statues of Jesus and Mary all over the house, Bill, and that’s the least of it. I’ve thought of having a word with her priest, and I almost did when she put one in the bathroom.’

‘What stopped you?’

‘I’m a Jew, aren’t I? And nowadays Moira isn’t beyond calling me one, though she hasn’t yet included an adjective. I sometimes feel that what she’d like to do is crucify me—’