‘Which is good, right? At least she’s showing a bit of enthusiasm.’ Nell paused. She wasn’t sure he was listening. ‘She has to get through this on her own, love. You can’t do it for her.’

‘I know.’ He took her hand, tugging gently at her fingers. ‘And you? How are you?’

‘You have to stop asking me that too. Especially, you know . . .’ Maude was turning in a wide circle, dragging the stick through the sand.

‘Yeah, I know. But have you . . .’

It was funny the way he couldn’t quite bring himself to ask, to say it out loud. They were neither of them superstitious, but it was as if to put it into words, to even acknowledge the possibility might jinx it.

‘Not yet,’ said Nell. ‘I mean, I could, there are tests you can do early, but I’d rather wait until – you know – I’ve actually missed a period.’ The date was highlighted on the calendar on her phone.

‘But you do think . . . ?’

‘Yes. Yes, I do.’

They sat quietly for a moment, holding hands, looking at the sea, at the mist rolling in.

‘It’s not – it’s not the best timing, is it?’ said Chris, then, ‘Not that I’m not happy, I am, of course – but . . . you know.’ He glanced at Maude.

‘No. No, it isn’t. Sorry about that,’ she said. ‘We’ll work it out, though.’

Chris sighed softly, then raised her fingers to his lips, kissed them and stood. Brushing sand off his jeans, he called out, ‘Hey! Maude! Maudie!’

Maude looked up, dropping the stick and waiting, both hands on her hips, as Chris jogged towards her. Nell couldn’t hear, but from the way he pulled his phone from his pocket and Maude backed off, shaking her head; he was clearly trying to persuade her to pose with him for a selfie.

Nell left the discarded glass and shells on the rock and followed him slowly. By the time she caught up with them both, Chris was duly admiring the drawings in the sand – huge, stylised flowers, nodding their heads over undulating stems – as Maude danced around him. She wasn’t really sorry, despite what she’d said; she wasn’t about to let anyone, or anything, make her sorry about this.

*

Dad and Nell took their time following Maude off the beach, they wandered slowly behind her, acting all – weird. Her dad was doing that thing of being a bit too touchy-feely, as if it made up for him being at the gallery all the time, and Nell was playing along. They kept stopping to pick up more bits of glass and pebbles, and her dad kept taking photos.