The twins make their way up the stairs of the stands, joining the throng of other kids who aren’t in the next race and are returning to their parents for praise and food. Oli tenses, closes the diary and shoves it back in her bag. Fixes a smile on her face. ‘Hi, girls! That was great.’

‘Kate came third,’ Amy says.

‘I saw! Well done.’ Oli places a hand on Kate’s wet shoulder.

‘Do you have food?’ Kate is dripping in front of her, red marks on her face from her goggles.

‘I have muesli bars, but do you think you should eat before you swim again?’

Both twins dive for her satchel.

‘Girls!’ It comes out more sharply than she intends, and they pull away. ‘Here.’ She hands a muesli bar to each of them. Wipes her clammy hands on the thighs of her jeans. ‘I used to swim all the time,’ she says as they chew. ‘I love swimming. Maybe we should come here sometime, just the three of us. What do you think?’

Two sets of pale-blue eyes stare at her from beneath long black hair drying in loose waves. No one is ever going to mistake them for her children.

‘Did your mum like swimming?’

Amy and Kate look slightly alarmed, and Oli is flustered. Where did that come from?

‘I think she did,’ Kate says uncertainly. ‘But only at the beach.’

‘Well, that’s so nice,’ babbles Oli. ‘Swimming in the ocean is great.’ She’s suddenly tempted to ask them everything, find out what kind of mother Isabelle was, what she was like in the mornings and at Christmas. Ask them if Dean is different with her. Is he less affectionate or more? Their imaginary answers rattle around in her head, torturing her. Would it be better to know? ‘What else did your mum like?’ she says, trying to keep her voice even.

‘Can we get a dog?’ Kate says abruptly, looking expectantly at Oli.

‘Oh, well, I’m not sure. We’ll have to see.’

‘We were going to get a dog before you lived with us,’ adds Amy. ‘Or a cat. Dad said.’

‘I didn’t know that,’ stammers Oli.

‘It’s true,’ Amy says, shrugging her narrow shoulders. She looks down at the pool and steps closer to her sister until the backs of their hands touch. ‘We need to go.’

‘Of course, of course.’ Oli gestures toward the pool. ‘Well, off you go. Good luck!’

The girls walk away, their shoulder blades flaring grotesquely.