Faith had been explaining the intricacies of online dating for nearly an hour. In the end, Lily suggested setting up multiple accounts rather than choosing just the one platform. But Faith cautioned against it – ‘That’s a lot of pressure for a beginner’ – so they opted for Plenty of Fish. Tinder was, apparently, universally known for hook-ups and nothing more and they decided between themselves that that, too, was likely too much pressure for someone who didn’t know what they were doing – their words, not mine, but they weren’t wrong. When they started to ferret through my Facebook profile pictures to try to find something recent that didn’t feature Rowan I felt moved to step in.

‘Isn’t this something I should be a part of?’

Betty snorted. ‘Yeah, okay.’ There was a long silence, at the end of which she looked up at me from her phone. ‘Oh, God, you’re being serious. I’m sorry, Edi, I – well, sure, absolutely, you should be a part of this.’ She handed me her phone and shifted to stand behind me so she could watch over my shoulder as I typed in details. Faith and Lily took up residence either side of her. Edi’s Angels. I would have laughed at the idea if it hadn’t felt so tragic. ‘Okay, we’ve input your email address and all the rest of it already, so if you hit that button,’ she pointed, ‘then you can start building your profile.’

I followed instructions, and there appeared a drop-down menu asking: What are you here for?

‘Casual hook-ups,’ Lily answered without a pause and I craned around to look at her. ‘I’m sorry, were you looking for a deep and meaningful connection to go with your future husband?’

‘She’s got a point,’ Betty added. ‘If this thing with Rowan is a temporary agreement, you won’t exactly be dating anyone with a mind to make it into something serious.’

I rubbed at my forehead. ‘This is too hard.’ And I didn’t like Betty’s use of if.

Faith dropped on her knees so she could sit level with me. ‘It doesn’t need to be. We’re literally only doing this to show you different ways of meeting people. So, put that you’re looking to meet new people, and then also tick that you’re open to dating. If you get a casual hook-up, great; if you meet someone who treats you better than Rowan, even better.’ I turned to throw her a look, but she winked at me, as though trying to soften the blow. ‘Does that help?’

Again, I followed instructions and waited for the next screen to appear. ‘I think so.’ But then the next question posed an even harder dilemma: What are you interested in?

‘Edi?’

I looked around. I wasn’t sure whether it was Lily or Betty trying to get my attention.