‘I’m up for it. I flatted for years, and I’ve seen those guys on TV. I can get together a casserole with the best of them. Ice cream and chocolate sauce to follow.’

‘God help us,’ said Helen.

‘Someone will have to,’ said Alison, and they laughed. Pearly left them in that good humour and went to his study. There were three meetings in the week ahead and the 125th looming beyond that. He wasn’t sure how he felt about Helen taking the hospital job, not because of any inconvenience it might cause him, but because he was unsure of her motivation. It wouldn’t be money. It must be the natural wish to use her skills to good purpose, and he could understand and support that, yet there was the small fear that she was in search of something she found lacking at home — and in him.

To their surprise, Kevin was back in touch within a few days, but it wasn’t the consequence of any wish to express gratitude or the cause of any pleasure for his parents. Helen took the call quite late when they were getting ready for bed. She listened, didn’t say much and motioned to Pearly to come close and prepare to take the phone. She held her hand over it as she gave it to him and said that something had gone wrong at Kevin’s work. ‘I think he’s been drinking,’ she added. Pearly thought it would be more about boat purchases and loans, but it was worse than that.

‘We’re probably going into receivership,’ Kevin said brashly with the alcohol-induced truculence of shame and anger.

‘What’s happened?’ asked Pearly.

‘Bad debts, bad luck, tax arrears, insufficient income stream, but, worst, the insurance company’s turned bolshie on the payout for the launch fire. You name it, it’s shit we’ve got.’

‘Are you getting professional advice?’

‘We’ve got more bloody advice than we can deal with. What we need is money!’

‘Well, drinking won’t help, that’s for sure.’

‘What would you know?’ Kevin said roughly. ‘I suppose you’re pleased. I’ve bombed out again, and that’s all you ever expected. You’re proved right as usual. You think I didn’t know all the time that you were disappointed in me, and still are?’

‘Not true,’ Pearly said. Helen was standing close to him, looking into his face and with anxiety on her own.

‘I knew all right. I wasn’t like you, and the thing is I didn’t want to be like you, but you never thought of that. You’re not a big man, Dad. You’re a small guy. No matter what you see in the mirror, you’re not a big man. You’re actually a small frog in a small pond.’