She was struggling not to cry, Jason realised. Guilt weighed heavily inside him. He watched hopelessly as, her belligerence deflating, Holly’s eyes also filled up. She wasn’t upset about the breakfast offerings, he was well aware. She was upset because Karla was upset, acting out of character. They both were. The kids could sense that things were far from right between them. How could they not?

Knowing he was the cause of all this, and wary of making things worse, he walked hesitantly across to where Holly was now fiddling with the toast on her plate. It had been cremated and then scraped. She wasn’t going to eat it. ‘Go and grab a couple of biscuits and an apple, sweetheart,’ he said. ‘I’ll make sure to get some milk in for tomorrow.’

‘Dad to the rescue.’ Karla smiled shortly, brushing past him to get to the table. Jason didn’t miss the sarcasm in her voice. Nor, it seemed, did Holly. She watched her mum guardedly as she climbed off her chair and went to the biscuit barrel. Jason felt his heart drop. Now he’d announced that he wanted out of their marriage, he ought to just go – his being here wasn’t helping the situation – but he was growing more and more worried, which Karla would find laughable. He didn’t want to leave her like this. He didn’t actually have anywhere to go either. And, God help him, he didn’t want to. But there was no way he could stay. He’d agonised over whether to tell Karla about the news her loving father had delivered and had decided he just couldn’t. Certainly not without knowing whether her mother had any idea.

‘Josh?’ He walked around to ruffle his son’s hair, trying for some kind of normalcy; there’d been none since he’d walked back in to blow their lives apart. ‘Go and get some clothes on, tiger.’ He offered him a reassuring smile. ‘And then I’ll drive you to school.’

Josh blinked up at him. ‘Can I take my iPad?’ he asked.

‘I don’t see why not.’ Jason glanced questioningly across to Karla.

‘In the car, yes. Into school, no,’ Karla said, her despairing look communicating that he was countermanding an already laid-down rule. Jason made a mental note. Clearly Josh was pushing the boundaries too.

‘It’s not fair. Everyone else does.’ Nudging his glasses up his nose, Josh sighed and slid off his chair.

‘Everyone else doesn’t, Josh, as you very well know,’ Karla pointed out, collecting up plates from the table. ‘Now hurry up and get dressed, please. And don’t forget to brush your teeth.’

‘I won’t. You don’t have to keep flipping reminding me,’ Josh replied, his tone exasperated as he trudged into the hall.