She considered this.

“Okay, fair enough. So. We were arguing because he wanted me to come back to him. He doesn’t understand why I left.”

“I already know that too.”

“How do you know? Are you sure you’re not cheating?”

“No man ever understands why a woman leaves him.”

“Is that what happened to you?”

He changed up a gear. “It’s still your turn.”

“I ran away from him in the middle of a dinner party,” she said. “Until I phoned him yesterday, he didn’t have any idea where I was.”

“That was cruel.” Was that too much? He overtook a caravan.

“Maybe he deserved it.”

“If he deserved it you wouldn’t have got in touch.”

“No, that’s true,” said Ava. “He didn’t deserve it. But I couldn’t stand being in the same house as him any longer. And someone I trust told me it was time to stop putting him first.”

“Was that Finn?”

“Your turn.”

“I’ll have to think.”

Several miles passed in silence.

“I went down to the council offices to report you,” he said as they turned off the dual carriageway.

“Doesn’t count. I already knew.”

“No you didn’t.”

“Yes I did. You told us you were going to, and now that’s what you’ve done. At least you warned us first. As deadly enemies go, you’re a pretty nice guy really.”

“Are we deadly enemies?” He was surprised by how much he minded.

“You want my home torn down, you don’t like your daughter spending time with me and you absolutely hate my brother. I’d say that qualifies.”

“That’s not the same as hating you. Maybe we could still… ”

“Be friends?”

He pressed hard on the accelerator. “Forget it.”

“It’s still your turn.”

“I don’t want my turn.”

“I suppose we’ll just have to sit in awkward silence, then.”

“I suppose we will.”

The miles unfurled beneath the tyres and the gorse sped past. After a few minutes, Ava opened her window and held her left hand out, palm upward, to the breeze.

Someone had parked in his usual spot in the car park. He parked next to it instead, and made a mental note to move his car later. Then he caught himself thinking this and told himself to stop being such an old man. Ava was struggling with the door handle. Despite his anger he found himself going round to the passenger side to free her.

With her bare feet and her hair beginning to unravel from its chignon, she looked more like the flower-child with the softly chiming ribbon-trimmed jeans who had stood outside his pub planning lunch with her brother. He looked her up and down.

“That stain’s going to set soon,” he said.

“I told you, I’m never wearing this suit again.”

“How about when you come home from travelling?”

“I won’t ever come back either. I’ll find the perfect beach and sit in the sunshine and wait for Finn to come and join me.” She was trying to sound light-hearted but her mouth looked tense, and as she turned away from him to let the breeze blow her hair away from her face, he thought he glimpsed tears. “Thanks for the lift.”