‘Hey, honey,’ said Marco, unfurling his lithe body from the seat and giving me a double kiss on the cheeks. His smile was comfortingly warm and familiar. I squeezed into the corner nook, grateful for our tiny circle being redrawn.

‘How are you?’ said Hannah, eyes stretched wide with worry. ‘How are you surviving your mum?’

I hesitated for a second, part of me desperate to block out what I’d done today. Every time I thought about it – thought about them opening a letter or taking a call from the police – my stomach dropped earthwards. Had I really done the right thing? When I’d called Amber afterwards she’d been almost celebratory, like it was a birthday with a zero in it, but it was hard for me to feel triumphant.

I gave myself a virtual slap, reminding myself how lucky I was to have her. It was a mark of how much she cared about me that she was so proud, so pleased that firm boundaries were finally being built. And the fact that she was seeing me for free was the most incredible act of love. But then, was it free, or was she deferring the cost? I realized I didn’t really know, and, much like a credit card with a 0% limit that expired in India at some mysterious point in the future, I had no desire to clarify it.

‘You don’t have to talk about it,’ added Hannah, ‘but I got the feeling from Amber it was bad.’ I felt a flicker of betrayal, then pushed it away. We were our own raggle-taggle family now: she obviously wanted me to feel their support outside our prescribed hours together. It was another indication of her love for me. Now I understood why Hannah had been so insistent we meet tonight.

‘Did she tell you…’

Hannah silently nodded, concern etched into her face. She must have seen how sad I looked, because her arms octopus-ed their way back around my shoulders.

‘You’re amazing, Rachel. So amazing. Isn’t she, Marco?’

Marco grinned.

‘You’re a legend, bella!’

‘You’re taking no shit,’ continued Hannah, gabbling with excitement and pride. ‘No fucks given. You’re telling your family who’s boss. You’re choosing yourself. You’re choosing all of us, and Amber and your brand-new life. It’s going to be amazing. This is just the darkness before the dawn.’

Had Amber told her to employ that phrase to comfort me, like a benign form of group hypnosis, or was it something she trotted out to all her clients as they plumbed the depths? Another stab of unease that I squashed as quickly as it arose. I leaned into Hannah, thanked her, and found my hand unconsciously reaching towards the wine bottle. Surely today of all days it would be acceptable to afford myself a little comfort?