Laughter flares again, followed by Dean’s low-pitched chuckle. Oli has a strange sense of being an intruder in her own house. She makes her way quietly down the corridor, her fingers tracing the photo frames on the wall. Dean and the girls; the girls on their own. Dean and Oli, taken on the night Dean proposed. On a side table is a small frame with a photo of Isabelle holding Kate when she was a baby.

Oli stops in front of the picture. Isabelle’s fingers curl around Kate’s plump legs. Her eyes exactly match the sky-blue of her shirt. She was petite, but Oli saw first-hand her quiet power. It’s hard to believe that in the end she was wiped out so cruelly. Oli has never said anything to Dean about the photo, or commented on the one in the lounge room—it would be a petty thing to raise—but all of a sudden she wonders how he would react if photos of her ex were on display in their house. But this is different, of course: the tragedy of Isabelle’s death means the normal rules don’t apply. Grief trumps insecurity.

Underneath the tinkling piano, Oli detects a male voice that doesn’t belong to Dean. Who is that? She corrects her posture and fluffs out her hair. As she enters the kitchen, she arranges her face into a pleasant expression. Nathan Farrow, Dean’s main university client, is seated next to Toni at the island bench, and Dean stands opposite them both. Amy is at the kitchen table, sitting bolt upright while she types away on her laptop.

Toni spots her first, her expression dipping a little before resetting. ‘Olive! Hi.’

‘Hi, Toni.’ Oli waves awkwardly, depositing her satchel on the spotless bench. ‘Hi, Nathan.’

Oli’s only met him once before, at a fancy lunch Dean’s business hosted a few months ago. He’s in his fifties, tall and trim, and seems to be experimenting, unsuccessfully, with facial hair. From their brief conversation Oli remembers thinking he seemed surprised to find himself in such a senior position. He has relied on Dean like a prosthetic limb ever since the uni was embroiled in a sex scandal three months ago. A male student claims he was assaulted by a male teacher on campus after hours; the teacher denies it. The student has mental health issues. For the sake of her relationship with Dean, Oli was happy to see the story go to TJ.

‘It’s nice to see you again, Oli,’ Nathan says. ‘I’m sorry I’m always monopolising your husband.’

The word ‘husband’ hangs in the air, but no one corrects him.

‘Hey, babe.’ Dean puts down his beer and ambles over, kisses Oli on the lips. ‘Nath tagged along with me. We’ve got some more work to do tonight, unfortunately. Want a drink?’

‘No, thanks.’