‘If I hadn’t been so focused on where I was heading, maybe I would have noticed it was all becoming too much for him.’ This is the first time I’ve allowed myself to admit my fears. Up until now it’s been an elusive worry floating around inside my head. But as the weeks and months have passed, the random pieces have started to come together and what I’m beginning to understand is disturbing.

‘This is a bit unexpected, I will admit, although he hasn’t been his usually jolly self recently. A bit… preoccupied, perhaps, is what I’d noticed,’ Georgia suggests.

I can almost see her mind ticking over as we sit here, glumly realising the signs have been there for a while.

‘We no longer talk about the future, it’s all day-to-day stuff. We’ve been married for seven years and I can’t help wondering if that has something to do with it,’ I admit.

Georgia smiles. ‘The seven-year itch? Is that even real?’

‘The alleged point at which boredom sets in, apparently. I just didn’t think it would happen to us. What a fool I’ve been, assuming Aiden’s silence meant we were still working towards the same goals; he’s become withdrawn and that’s a warning sign I should have jumped on from the start.’

‘He is an overachiever, so I get that bit. But you’re the centre of his world, Fern.’

‘And he’s the centre of mine, but it’s always work or family these days. We’ve stopped bothering to dress up and have a date night, time to just enjoy being together. We come home tired and veg out in front of the TV. And weekends it’s either something related to the charity, working on the house or visiting my family.’

‘He… um… he hasn’t done something stupid, has he? I mean, you do hear of—’ Georgia’s frown is deepening.

‘No. No. It’s not like that – at least, I don’t think he’s had an affair, or anything. I’d at least sense that, wouldn’t I?’

Georgia’s eyebrows shoot up, disappearing into corkscrew curls. ‘Well, you’re a pair of workaholics, which is probably why you’ve always been so close, because you understand each other. Maybe you need a break, a little holiday to enjoy some undisturbed quality time together.’

‘I wish it was that simple, but I fear that would actually tip us over the edge. Being together twenty-four/seven while he’s so touchy would be yet another pressure.’

‘Ah, I see what you mean. Sort of confronting it head-on because there wouldn’t be any distractions. Damn it, this is a bit of a predicament, isn’t it?’

Well, she’s right there. How can I explain something that’s made up of a zillion disparate little oddities? In isolation, they mean nothing; combined they mean something. But what, exactly?