‘I’ll message Fraser anyway. Lots of Australians have a dog or a cat. We should have got one sooner.’

That was how Alan became part of our family. Back when Chanel worked at The Other Corporation, Erin was her manager and a reliable guide on how things were done here. Erin said that it was quite okay to feed Alan in the morning and leave him outside to amuse himself in the yard. ‘It’s called Set and Forget,’ she told Chanel. Alan didn’t bark much as we headed off for the day, leaving him alone – he was used to that way of life.

Then Ivy joined our household. Ivy is my mother, and she had Alan inside all the time. I tried to explain about Set and Forget. The news was on, and a government hatespokesperson was telling us why it was necessary to detain asylum-seeking queue-jumpers on an offshore island forever. Ivy said, ‘I suppose that’s called Set and Forget, too.’

But I’ve strayed from my subject of Alan’s last day. My mind has started showing this tendency to play tricks. There was that time a bulb went, and when I fetched a new one from the cupboard it was labelled ‘Worm White’. How strange, I thought, before realising that it was ‘Warm White’. It must be overwork – I stay later and later at the Department these days.

Naturally we said nothing to Mel and Sydney about what we had to do. My flexi-day came, a winter morning with a vinyl sheen. The children were at school, so that left Ivy. I found her sitting on the sunny side of the patio with her face turned to the sky. She had a tube of Factor 73 beside her and Alan on her lap.

This is Melbourne. It was three degrees outside. Ivy was wearing Ugg boots, a beanie, a down jacket and gloves. She’s always felt the cold. It caused difficulty when she came to live with us. After the first winter power bill, I had to point out that we couldn’t keep the heating on just for her. She was to switch it off when the children left for school and switch it on when they came home. When I say ‘point out’, I mean that I was tactful. I left the bill lying around, and talked about what heating had cost the previous year and how much more we were paying now. That was when Ivy started going out on cold days, crossing the city on buses and trains. She went to places we had no idea were places. Altona! Brunswick! Before setting out, she’d take Alan for a long walk, so that when he came home he slept for hours. Now that he’d grown old and whined when left alone, she stayed with him whatever the weather.

‘Alan’s due for his injection,’ I told her.

‘Are you sure?’

‘I have the reminder in my phone.’