‘At the orthodontist. She’s getting her braces tightened.’

Beth gave a swift, mirthless laugh, and Lisa frowned.

‘Don’t,’ she softly admonished. ‘You used to have braces too, remember?’

Beth looked down at the cluster of ingredients on the table, the nested bowls and measuring spoons, and felt ashamed.

‘Sorry. You’re right.’

There followed a moment of strained silence, then Lisa said: ‘I guess we’d better partner up.’

They listened as Ms Quinn outlined the steps to be taken, all the while Beth concentrated her attention on Lisa’s presence. How strange it was to be beside her again. For years she had existed closely within Lisa’s orbit, knew instinctively the familiarities of Lisa’s corporeal reality – the soft, quiet way she held herself, the sensitivities of her skin, plagued by sudden flare-ups of eczema, the stoic manner in which she trained herself to resist scratching. Glancing down, Beth saw the red rawness of Lisa’s fingers and it caused a small lurch of tenderness within her, while at the same time she noticed the plaited leather bracelets that were unfamiliar. Lisa’s hair, brown and thin, was worn in a new way. The lank ponytail that used to swing down her back was gone, replaced by a tightly scraped little bun, austere and prim. Beth noticed this with a twinge of sadness and imagined the scene – Sasha saying: ‘You have got to do something with your hair, Lise. That ponytail is so lame!’ Nicole sniggering, ‘Yeah. It makes you look like twelve.’ Lisa’s martyred submission as they refashioned her hair to their liking.

Silence stretched between them as they measured the flour and sugar. Beth, unwrapping a slab of butter, said: ‘So Callum is working in the club now?’

‘You saw him?’

‘He served me. You know, the other day when—’

‘Oh, right. I forgot.’ Lisa seemed embarrassed, and after a moment, she added:

‘Look, I’m sorry about what happened. Those things Sasha and Nicole said … It all got out of hand.’

‘It’s okay—’

‘No, it’s not. I never meant for anyone to think that you’re … You know …’

‘A dyke?’

Lisa winced. ‘Not that there’s anything wrong with that. They just misconstrued what I said.’ The skin at her neck had turned a mottled red. ‘I’ve been wanting to say something to you about it ever since it happened. I feel awful.’

Lisa was looking at her directly now, and Beth remembered with a pang how they used to sit cross-legged on the bed staring intently at each other for hours while they talked. Having Lisa’s familiar blue-green gaze fixed on her once more made her feel both happy and sad at the same time, longing and loss mingling together in confusion.

‘That’s okay,’ Beth said, adding: ‘Callum was pretty nice to me though.’

‘Oh. Well. That’s good.’