‘No I don’t.’ She touches her hair and grimaces. ‘I look like shit.’

‘Don’t be so hard on yourself.’ I take two mugs out of the dishwasher and drop in teabags. ‘I saw your house was let. Have you given up on London?’

When I turn round, she’s studying the photos and calendar stuck to the fridge. ‘Not entirely. I haven’t made my mind up yet.’

There’s something absent about her, but I put it down to the injury and I’m prepared to be kind. All the same, she’s making me uneasy. She’s twitchy in her movements, and she won’t settle. Her eyes are everywhere, scanning the room, watching me, zooming in on family photographs.

‘How’s Kai?’ I ask to distract her and calm my own nerves. ‘Lottie misses him.’

Her face brightens. ‘He’s doing well. He’s got into a good secondary school.’

‘Are you still with your parents?’

‘Yes. No. Well, I won’t be for long. I’m working things out. So how are things with you two?’

For a moment I think she means me and Nick; but then I realize she’s talking about me and Lottie.

‘Oh, we’re doing OK. Trundling along as usual. Lottie’s been on the Dorset trip all week.’

‘I feel so bad that Kai’s missed out. He would have loved to have gone.’

The kettle boils and I pour water on to the teabags, add milk and stir them. There’s no answer to that. As I pick up the mugs and set them down on the table, I check the kitchen clock, then catch Anna watching me.

‘Are you in a hurry?’ she asks.

‘No, it’s fine. The coach is expected back at four. That’s all. We want to be there to meet her.’

‘We?’

‘Her father wants to be there too.’

Anna moves away from the fridge and sits down. I’m over-aware of her movements. It’s as if she’s a ticking bomb. I try and second-guess why she’s here, what it is she really wants.

‘Oh, right.’ She blows on her tea before sipping it. ‘Is he around as much?’

I’m not sure why she might think he wouldn’t be, but I let it pass. ‘Yes. No change there.’

She nods, her bottom lip caught between her teeth.

‘Why do you ask?’

She shrugs. ‘Oh, no reason.’

There’s a pause and I cast around for something else to talk about. Suddenly, four o’clock feels a long way away. I wish I’d told her I had to be somewhere earlier.

‘So, are you in London to hand over the keys to your place?’

‘Something like that. Just tying up loose ends.’