“No, that I don’t believe. Let’s not talk about it, I don’t want us to fight. I’m going to change the subject now. Okay. Tell me what he’s like, your daddy-o. Did I pick a nice one for you?”

“Yeah, he’s nice.”

“And his wife. Is she beautiful?”

“Yeah, kind of. Not, well—”

“What’s ‘yes, no, kind of’ mean? Is she young?”

“Same as him, I guess.”

“Rich?”

“How would I know?”

“What’s she got, then?”

“She has big breasts.”

They both laugh.

“Well, there I can’t compete.”

“I think she loves him a lot. She’s always fussing over him. She’s a good cook.”

“Motherly,” says Vanessa. “Are you getting fattened up?”

“Mmmmm.”

“And have you met your grandmother?” There’s a different note in Vanessa’s voice, a strangled edge. It’s Celia Kidd she really cares about, not Gillem, Rat thinks.

“No, not yet.” Rat hesitates. “She has Alzheimer’s,” she says finally.

A silence. Then, “My God,” says Vanessa’s voice, sounding shocked. “Alzheimer’s … what a nightmare! That proud beautiful woman! Is it bad?”

“I guess. She’s in a sort of nursing home.”

“That’s awful,” says Vanessa’s voice, but Rat can tell she’s secretly a tiny bit relieved, that she’d rather Celia Kidd was out of the picture, so nobody could have her. “Why do they let her go to a nursing home? With the money they have, you’d think they could at least keep her in her own home.”

“I dunno.”

“And Morgan, is he happy, are they being kind to him? He must like the wife’s cooking, at least. Or is English food as vile as—”

“They’re very kind to him. They have a son Morgan’s age.”

“Only one child? Is he nice?”

“He’s clever. And Morgan’s doing well. He’s made friends with some older boys he plays football with.”

“It sounds great, Ratty. I’m really happy for you, honestly I am. I’m glad you’re getting something I couldn’t give you. Put me on to my darling little Momo, I want to see if he’s forgotten his big bad Vanilla.”

When Morgan gets on the phone, he says at once, very cheerful, “Hi, Mama Vanessa,” and Rat is surprised, because he never used to call Vanessa “Mama.” Even if he’d wanted to, Vanessa wouldn’t have let him, she would have considered it disrespectful of Souad.

Rat can hear the little twitter of Vanessa’s telephone voice asking, “So you speak English now?”

And Morgan laughs. “Yes, I speak very well. How are you? I am fine.”

The lump in Rat’s throat from missing her mother is so big she can’t swallow.