There was no way she could come around here and not violate the rules somehow. So dinner with Dad wasn’t exactly on the list per se, but it was a very serious couple thing to do. That was “we-ing” on a metaphorical level if not a literal one. And there was no way we’d get through a whole evening without something to do with Mum or the blasted wedding coming up. She’d want to know all about it, and I wouldn’t want to talk about it and then there really would be a fight. We’d be in serious relationship territory then. Ruby was sticking her nose in where it didn’t belong. Maybe this whole montage thing was a bad idea. She obviously didn’t understand boundaries. I mean, OK, those boundaries hadn’t exactly been spelled out for her, but she should have waited for me to invite her, not my dad shouting over the phone.

And yet, I didn’t really want to end this whole thing over a dinner, did I? Maybe I could get out of it somehow. I needed to talk to Mum. It might not be the same as before, but talking to her still always helped give me some perspective.

Nora waved at me from the other end of the hall. She must have wondered why I was visiting a second time in one day. Or maybe she wasn’t thinking about me at all because she was a busy person and I was an egomaniac.

When I got to Mum’s door it was slightly open and I heard a low voice. Dad’s voice. I checked my watch. It wasn’t his normal time to visit. I thought about turning around, but something made me listen at the door. Habit maybe. It felt like being a kid again and I felt the same rumble in my stomach, as though I could potentially hear some more terrible news. As though the worst hadn’t already happened.

The last time Dad and I had visited together was before I found out he was seeing Beth. I wouldn’t go with him after that. I couldn’t stand to see him sit there and talk to her knowing that he was lying and cheating and she didn’t even realize it.

I peeked in the door, thinking that if they did catch me looking, I’d stroll in and pretend I had just turned up. But they were sitting facing the window, their backs half turned away from me, though I could still see their faces in profile.

“What do you think?” Dad asked. “I thought I remembered you saying you wanted one like this years ago. I guess I should have got it for you then, but we had no money and I forgot. Till now anyway.”