I gave him an encouraging smile.

‘We make a good team, don’t we?’ he said with a half laugh.

‘I think so,’ I said, wishing I didn’t have to read between the lines. I had known Ben for such a short amount of time and I knew it would take a while to understand the way his behaviour could affect mine and how we could one day dance that seamless marital routine around one another to maintain harmony; meet each other’s needs without upsetting the natural balance of things. Right now, I was playing a delicate waiting game and I knew I would be for some time.

‘You off to work soon?’ Ben ran his hands through his hair and pushed one side behind his ears. I had noticed he was growing it even longer, probably to feel more like a rock star before he went off to record. I knew his question was rhetorical.

‘Yeah, but I’ve got time if… you know… you need to talk.’

‘You really should think about slowing down soon, Daisy. For the baby.’

I felt the surge of heat rising through me. I took a deep breath. The baby.

Then I waited for Ben to speak. I didn’t want to force him to speak. I had been there with those kinds of conversations. I knew what it felt like to be trapped in a room with two pairs of accusing eyes upon me, waiting for the answers that would never come; eventually dismissing me, making me leave the room so I was out of their sight, my guilt following behind me like a heavy cloak.

I would have to let it come from him when he was ready. There was no hurry. We had all the time in the world. I knew the thoughts and secrets I harboured were packed so tightly away that they would not seep through my subconscious and disrupt our marriage. It was hard work, constantly analysing my own behaviour, but it was worth it.

‘I was just thinking, about stuff.’ Ben sniffed and rubbed his stubble with both hands

‘Uh huh.’

‘Like when you know something, but you can’t be sure? Is that what you women call intuition?’

‘Ha! Us women!’ I sneered. ‘Yeah, I guess it’s called intuition. It’s like a radar; a silent alarm that goes off in your body when you think something isn’t right; when danger is ahead.’ I grabbed his leg and pulled him in. ‘Or in our case, when something is very, very right.’

‘Yeah.’ He laughed. ‘We are a pretty good match.’

‘So, what’s your intuition telling you today?’ I tried to sound light without dismissing the importance.

‘Well, that’s just it.’ He placed his hands on my shoulders and gave them a light rub. ‘I just don’t know. I think I’m only just getting to grips with it, been reading a bit up on the internet – they also call it gut feeling, don’t they? Because we have a primal connection between our brain and our gut – they are connected by an extensive network of neurons and a highway of chemicals and hormones.’