Prin lifts the doll towards her. Jane makes a grab for it and gets her by the skirts. Prin is holding the doll by its soft head. Jane tugs, Prin pulls, both of them refusing to let go. It’s a hot, frantic tug-of-war.

Jane pulls again and Prin pulls back even harder. Then she hears it. A ripping sound. She looks down.

Jane is holding the doll in her hands.

And Prin is holding the head.

Prin almost falls headlong as she rushes downstairs. She is already shouting out as she runs. She’s managed to wrestle the doll’s body off Jane, and now she holds both pieces in her hands. She has left Jane sitting in the hot room above, eyes huge, arms wrapped round her knees, knowing she has done a bad thing and is likely to get in quite a lot of trouble. Prin is going to tell on her. It was all Jane’s fault, that’s what Prin needs to say. She is furious with Jane for breaking one of her toys, but as she runs downstairs, the tears come too. It wasn’t a favourite toy but it was very upsetting, seeing the doll rip apart like that. The sheer violence of it releases another flood of cries from Prin, anger and upset and hurt and shock. She shouldn’t be crying, she knows that, but it was so horrible the way the head just came off!

She bursts into the kitchen, clutching the ragged pieces of doll in her hands.

Mum is standing at the kitchen sink with her back to Prin, her shoulders shaking. When she turns around, Prin’s own tears die in her throat.

Mum is crying. She is crying.

There isn’t any doubt this time. Prin can see the wet streaks all over Mum’s face.

‘Mum?’ Prin stops short in the middle of the kitchen. The word comes out small and uncertain. Her own eyes suddenly feel quite dry. She takes another step forwards, then stops again. As she stands there, holding the broken doll, she sees fresh tears well up in Mum’s eyes. ‘Mum?’ she says again, and she cannot help but feel frightened this time.

Then there’s a noise behind her. It’s Daddy. He was standing on the other side of the room, hidden by the door when Prin came in, but now he steps forwards, right up to Prin. He crouches down in front of her and puts his hands on her shoulders, turning her a little bit, so she can’t see Mum properly any more. Mostly, she can only look straight into Daddy’s eyes

He cocks his head. ‘What happened?’ he asks.

Prin looks down at the pieces of doll in either hand. She looks up again at Daddy.

‘We had a – me and Jane …’ Prin stops. ‘Why is Mum crying?’ she whispers.

Daddy smiles. ‘She isn’t,’ he says.