‘Yeah, she’s got something on too.’ Ignoring me, mostly – a full schedule.

‘And there’s no one else?’

I bit my lip, pretended no one was coming to mind … Oh, apart from Biddy.

Agnë smiled. ‘My Sam’s always so helpful with the children, he’s such a good man. Just don’t tell him I told you that if you see him, OK? Katė glostoma kuprą kelią.’

‘Sorry?’

‘Cat patting leads to hump raising.’ She winked.

What even … Would I sleep with Agnë? Yes, probably, if she’d have me. Probably with Sam too, if I ever met him. I was pitiful.

She leant in closer, lowered her voice. ‘Just so you know, we’re expected to be at launches like this one.’

‘Yeah, I know.’

Sarah wouldn’t mind if I had sex with everyone, just not her, but Biddy … I was being suppressed, get a life, Chris, no you weren’t.

Agnë raised her eyebrows, wandered off. I clacked at my keyboard, pondered how completely fucked Sarah and I were without Zac.

He’d been sacked by Natural Opulence, but they’d thrown him a rope, in his retelling, given the, um, miscommunication from HR, and, um, promises that could reasonably have been perceived to have been made regarding his, um, legal issues. We’ll continue to support you in, um, the masters program we’ve enrolled you in. A two-year, paid-for course at the University of Melbourne in Supply Chain Logistics. If he did well, kept his nose clean, then maybe, just maybe, he’d have a job again at Natural Opulence. Assuming he passed the entry exam, which he’d sat once already and failed, and would have to sit again in January, and passed a three-week summer intensive at his own expense.

* * *

Zac would phone, if he could, between 6 pm and 8 pm. He’d have exactly twelve minutes to speak before the line cut out. It was 7.33 pm – not a peep.

I was lying belly-down on the bed, could hear Sarah in the kids’ bedroom, Oliver saying he wasn’t tired, Sophie singing ‘You Are My Sunshine’. I kept my ears on my phone, to the right of me, my eyes on Sarah’s phone, in my hand.

The last text from Aaron was still twisting in the wind: Hello Sarah. Yes, I understand. Thanks for letting me know.

From Dave, a new one, on Messenger: Maybe we should –

‘OK, off to sleep now,’ Sarah said in the kids’ room.

I closed the app, blacked out the screen, rolled over, put her phone on the bedside table exactly as it had been, screen-down, cover-open; rolled back onto my stomach, got my phone, opened Facebook.

‘Nothing yet?’ she said.

‘Nah, nothing. I think someone might have messaged you, though.’

She walked round the bed, got her phone.