Imelda knew that her mother was right. She was warning her, was trying to tell her what she already knew – that she had to somehow control these feelings that she had for Delroy, and stop the overpowering love she had for him, before it destroyed their marriage completely. ‘I know you’re right, Mum, and I know I need to calm down, and I will try. But it’s like I’m possessed sometimes. I can hear myself shouting and raving, and I know it’s wrong, I know I am irrational. But it’s like someone else is doing it, and I hate myself for it.’

Ria hugged her daughter, and wondered again at how this girl who had always been a sensible head, who had always been the most reasonable, albeit the most strong-minded of her children, had turned into this jealous, insecure woman. ‘Listen, love, all the children in the world won’t keep him beside you. Children put more of a strain on a marriage than anything else. All that shite about it bringing you closer is just that – shite. For the first few years you won’t sleep enough, you won’t eat properly and your sex life will be almost non-existent. But if you can get through it all, I promise you, that is when you finally bond together. And, remember this, when you have a baby in a cot, you can’t walk out of the house. He can, but you can’t. You’re stuck there no matter how angry you might be or how murderous you’re feeling. He can walk out, go down the pub, whatever. You are trapped like a bloody rabbit, and I can tell you now, it is one of the most frustrating feelings you will ever experience. But I can also tell you that if you learn how to calm yourself down, learn how to channel your anger into the home, or the washing, you will eventually come out the other side, frazzled, but with your marriage in one piece. Your father was out all hours of the day and night – that was his life, and I accepted that. We ain’t married to nine-to-fivers, love – you picked Delroy knowing he was like your dad. You can’t expect him to change now. So, listen to me. Get a grip, accept your life, accept his lifestyle, or run a mile now. Because he ain’t ever going to change.’

Imelda knew her mother was offering her the chance to walk away from her marriage; she was telling her that if she wanted to, she could come back here with her baby and start again. But she couldn’t. She could no more leave Delroy than she could cut her own throat.