“Exactly. That’s why I answered it. Ouch!”

“What?”

“Sorry, it’s just... I’ve been sitting on the edge of the bath and my bum’s gone numb.”

“Terry, I could lose my job.”

I pick a towel off the rack, fold it between my bottom and the hard ledge. I look at him. I look at his familiar face, layered with anger and worry. I shake my head. “You hate that job.”

“That’s not the point.”

“What is the point then?”

“Well, there’s the small matter of my monthly salary. Which, you might remember, pays inconsequential things like the mortgage. And the bills. And the food. And the—”

“The mortgage will be paid up in another year,” I interrupt. “And the girls are gone now, more or less. We don’t need as much money as we used to.”

“Yes, but we still need money.”

“Are they offering redundancy?”

“Of course they are.”

“Well then. We can live off that for a while. And I can get a job.”

He snorts. “Doing what?”

“I don’t know. I could be a carer or something. I could look after people.”

“You need qualifications for that.”

“Then I’ll get qualifications.”

Brendan bows his head, pushes his hand through his hair. I notice, for the first time, that it is thinning at the top and those thinning strands fill me with a fierce kind of sadness.

When he looks up, there is a beaten quality to his face. A sad resignation. “You think I’m going to lose my job, don’t you?”

“No. I’m just saying, if you do, it won’t be the end of the world.”

He’s looking at me now. Really looking. “You look...different,” he says. “Is that a new dress?”

I look down at myself. “Oh,” I say. “Well, it’s a skirt and top. But yes. I bought them in London.”

“They’re...” He casts around for a word. Then he says, “Nice.”

“Thank you.”

“And your hair,” he says. “It’s...different.”

“It’s just not tied up.”

“Oh. Right.”

I stand up. “I should go,” I tell him. “I need to check on Dad.”

“Where are you?” There is something plaintive in his tone. “I’m in a wine cellar actually. It turns into a jazz club on a full moon.”

“I didn’t know you liked jazz,” he says.

“Neither did I. And there just happens to be a full moon tonight. Isn’t that a piece of good luck?”

Brendan sighs. “How’s Iris?”

“She’s great,” I say.

“And what about the...you know...the Zurich thing?”

“It’s scheduled for the day after tomorrow, but I’m pretty sure she won’t go through with it.”

“I knew she wouldn’t,” says Brendan.

“Aren’t you glad?” I say. There is a sharp edge to my voice, but Brendan doesn’t notice.

“Of course I’m glad. It’s just...the timing of this escapade hasn’t been the best. With Anna’s finals and Kate’s play opening. And the bloody Canadians.”

I feel a low, dense heat building inside me. I have a feeling it might be resentment. “Well, I’m sorry that you and the girls have been so discommoded. With my escapade.”