‘I watched TV all night,’ she says to no one in particular, raising her hands to the ceiling and then stretching from side to side. ‘You would not believe this one advertisement I saw; there was an old woman selling guns at a shop called Granny Guns. “For all your firearm needs.” Grannies! Only in America, seriously. And don’t get me started on the others. I can’t stand the capitalist, wasteful consumption, but I have to admit those late-night infomercials are awesome.’ She twists towards me. ‘From a sociological point of view, of course. You would not believe the weird stuff people invent, like, what was that one …’ She twists to the other side. ‘Oh yeah, a towel hat for after a shower. Are people so lazy they can’t wrap towels around their heads? Eli would have loved that one. Those ads are like hypnosis or something—by 3am, I almost called and bought one.’

‘My dad once got this exercise machine,’ Jaxon says, ‘after watching TV all night. Real expensive. That pile of crap is now rusting in our basement; don’t buy the lies.’

‘Lies, lies, it’s all lies,’ Melody says dramatically. ‘And fake news.’ She’s looking at us from between her legs, now in the downward dog pose. Jaxon’s trying not to look.

‘Sky, I thought you may like …’ My father takes out soy cheese, rice yoghurt and almond milk from the fridge. I notice the shelves are well organised, each item in its place.

‘Thanks,’ I say, surprised at his thoughtfulness.

I force myself to take a few bites of food before we pack up and start loading the car.

Melody stops me at the door. ‘How are you feeling, love—everything okay?’

No, I want to tell her, it’s not, at least not between us. I can’t get the image out of my head of Paula walking in on my mum’s friend, Melody, in bed with Adam. That’s how Paula found out. She wanted Melody to come clean to my mum, but she didn’t. It caused a huge wedge between Paula and Melody, and because Melody and Mum later became best friends and roommates, it divided Paula and my mum. Ultimately, it separated Paula from me for years. Melody said that Mum wouldn’t have even cared if she had known, and that Adam and my mum weren’t really boyfriend and girlfriend.

‘I’m fine,’ I say shortly.

Melody hugs me. ‘I hope you have a great time, love. Try not to freeze.’

I pull away. ‘Where is your festival, anyway? Do you have warm enough clothes?’ I ask, forgetting my anger for a moment. I may be worried, but I’m still glad she’s going to be far away from us, far from my father. The thought of them spending time together, possibly rekindling something, is too horrible to bear.