Tonight, Anna was distracted; she picked up her glass of orange juice and put it straight back down again onto a battered mahogany table that wobbled on its spindly legs. I knew she was thinking about her appointment tomorrow. Our appointment tomorrow. There was a lot riding on it but for now I just wanted to relax, have a good time.

‘Hey,’ I nudged her lightly with my elbow. ‘It’s your shot.’

She picked up her cue and bent over the table, her denim skirt stretching. I couldn’t help checking her out. Before we had married, I had wondered what sleeping with the same woman for the rest of my life might be like, but I was just as attracted to her as ever. More so.

Anna’s tongue poked out between her teeth the way it always did when she was concentrating. She jabbed the white ball and potted a yellow.

‘That would be very impressive,’ I said, ‘if we weren’t red.’

‘Shit, are we? Sorry.’

‘We thought you two losers needed a chance,’ I called across to Josh and Nell. Nell didn’t bat back one of her usual sarcastic replies. She’d been quiet all evening too. We all took another shot and then it was Anna’s turn again.

‘Red?’ she questioned.

‘Red.’ I tried not to get annoyed. It was only natural that she was worried about tomorrow but then she was always worried. I just wanted one night without thinking about it all.

I watched as she thwacked a red ball into the black, which in turn dropped into the pocket, awarding Josh and Nell the victory.

‘That was a waste of fifty pence,’ I said lightly.

‘Well, if the money means that much to you,’ Anna snapped.

‘Hey.’ I held up my hands. ‘I was just kidding.’

‘No. I’ll give you back your fifty pence.’ She unzipped her purse and tipped a pile of coins on the table, and there it was: her grandad’s coin, which had passed between us several times since the wedding. We both stared at it before Anna scooped everything back into her purse except her grandad’s coin, which she stuffed into my pocket. She wound her arms around my neck and buried her face in my shoulder.

From over the top of Anna’s head I caught the furrow of anxiety between Josh’s eyebrows. He was worried about the way we’d begun to bicker, but I couldn’t expect him to understand the pressure we were under. He mouthed, ‘Drinks?’ and I nodded.

‘Are you Lonesome Tonight?’ began playing from the jukebox – not our song but close enough – and I pressed Anna’s body against mine and began to sway.

‘I’m not in the mood.’ Anna pushed me away. It was only in my head I replied, ‘You never are.’