Not a lie, not the whole truth.

‘Cool.’ Casey puts her spoon down and begins to run her finger along the plate to get the very last of the banana caramel cream.

‘You’re definitely too young to have a boyfriend,’ I say.

She laughs. ‘Harrison’s not my boyfriend.’ But she blushes and I think, She wishes he was. ‘He’s a boy who I’d like to be my friend.’

‘I work with lads and I know what they can be like, that’s all.’

Casey works her way around the plate until it’s cleaner than it would be after dishwashing. ‘Could I come in? To your work, I mean.’

The idea of my daughter among all those loud men terrifies me. ‘I don’t think so, it’s pretty rough and ready.’

She frowns. ‘Molly’s always going into her parents’ offices on Take Your Daughter to Work days. I’ve missed out. And I liked meeting your friends.’

I can tell from her oh-so-innocent face that she’s piling on the guilt on purpose. And it would be satisfying to show her what I do. I’m proud of it, and of her.

‘Let me think about it.’

‘Hospital school finishes early on Fridays,’ she says, ‘so tomorrow would be the ideal time.’

‘I said I’ll think about it.’

As we walk back to the penthouse I do think about it. I saw my dad at work all the time when I was growing up, but I’d forgotten how proud I was of him. I was only five or six when I first realized that other dads weren’t like mine. It was the mums who picked up my classmates. Dads were invisible. Except for my dad. He’d be there, parking his brilliant black Mazda on double yellows, ‘so we can make a quick getaway’. The bug-eyed headlights would wink at the women as we roared away.

Of course I didn’t understand then what he did, but I knew he was great at talking to people and changing their minds, like Derren Brown or Paul Daniels. It was only later that I realized how he abused his talents. But just because my father didn’t deserve my admiration doesn’t mean Casey shouldn’t see my work, and how important it is.

I don’t often give myself credit, but the lads are desperate to prove themselves, underneath the swagger – and the reason I do this job is because there’s nothing quite like seeing them slowly beginning to believe in themselves. I want my daughter to believe in herself, too.

Chapter 28: Casey

Friday 20 July

As the proton beam fires more invisible lightning bolts at Bob, I’m planning my next message to Harrison.

‘Earth to Casey!’ Fern’s voice comes through my headphones. ‘Treatment’s all done, you can come out now.’

DL is waiting with my backpack, ready to take me to his work. I grab my phone. Hooray! Harrison is on his break and has sent a TikTok video of meerkats, because I told him they were my favourite animal. It makes me laugh out loud, which is excellent because the same sense of humour is important – everyone says so.