‘I’d better go and sort her out in a moment,’ said Lorrie. She hesitated. ‘You and Luke …’

‘Nothing really,’ said Irene dreamily, drearily. ‘A holiday might-have-been. Something lovely in the air. Here, take this tea to Neil and give your daughter a hug. I’m going to put on my jeans. There’s tea for you,’ she called through Luke’s door. ‘On the side.’

She went into her cabin, and sat on the itchy blanket, drinking her tea. Then she took off her dress. The shower was cold when she stepped under it, but she washed herself vigorously in its chilly dribble, and dried herself with a thin, skimpy towel. There were goose bumps all up her arms; her bones ached.

For the first time in the holiday, she dressed in jeans and trainers, and bundled all her dirty clothes into her bag. Her grey skirt and ruffled top, still a bit wet and faintly braided with salt; her orange dress that was torn on the shoulder and smelt of brandy; her grimy shorts, her leather sandals, her swimsuit, her sun cream, her absurd floppy hat.

She cleaned her teeth and put her sponge bag on top of her clothes, along with her books, and then zipped up the case. She slid her passport and wallet into its side pocket; pulled a comb roughly through the knots in her hair and put that in too.

‘There,’ she said. ‘Finished.’

Back in the living space, she sat on the corner of the sofa and laid a hand on Mickey’s shoulder. She shook it gently, then more firmly.

‘Mickey? Mickey, you need to wake up.’

‘Whooris?’

‘Mickey, wake up. Talk to me.’

‘Talk.’

‘Count to ten.’

‘Whar?’

‘Count to ten.’

‘What for?’

‘Just do it.’

‘One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten … Irene?’

‘Fine. You can go back to sleep now.’

‘I was an oaf.’

‘Oh Mickey, it doesn’t matter. It’s all in the past. Are you all right?’

‘Headache thundering like the Niagara bloody Falls. Never been there. Never been anywhere. Dublin. France.’

‘You can still do it. You can go anywhere.’

‘I called you bitch.’

‘You were drunk.’

‘No wonder Sandy left me.’

‘Hush. Don’t say that.’

‘You’re going today?’

‘In a few hours. An hour’s motoring away is where I can get a taxi. Though I might have to borrow some euros from Lorrie and Neil to get me back to my car.’

‘I’ll lend you …’

‘No. It’ll be fine.’

‘Irene, you and Luke …’

‘Leave it. Go back to sleep now.’

‘Sleep’s gone away. Feel like shit but couldn’t sleep now.’

‘I’ll get you a cup of tea, shall I?’