The windows were certainly smeary. During the week, children pressed grimy fingers against the glass and made faces at their friends. Starting at one end of the shop, Miki began wetting down the glass with the sponge. It felt strange being outside when she wasn’t meant to be. She was buzzing with excitement, as if the entire world was watching her even though nobody was there.

After finishing with one pane, she was shifting her ladder along when she saw Wendy strolling up the path with her little girl, Suzie. Wendy always looked tired, and she always had a cigarette in her hand—didn’t she think about her children breathing in all that smoke? She was a good-looking woman, and today she wore tight jeans and a denim jacket over a close-fitting top. Whenever she entered the shop, men noticed her, and Miki was sure Wendy was aware of this—something about the way the blonde woman pulled back her shoulders and pushed out her chest. Now Wendy paused, with a wry smile, to watch Miki at work. Miki smelled Wendy’s perfume, light and sweet like freesias, but the sour tang of smoke was still there, just underneath.

Wendy grinned. ‘You can do my place next, if you like.’ She was holding the little girl’s hand, and Suzie was inspecting Miki with big brown eyes, the same shape as her mum’s.

‘Can I have a turn?’ Suzie asked.

‘Sure.’ Miki dipped the cloth in the bucket, wrung it out and handed it to Suzie, who started wiping haphazardly over the section Miki had just finished.

‘Kurt let you out for the day?’ Wendy asked drily, raising an eyebrow. ‘I’d run, if I was you. I’d hit the road and never stop. He’s a controlling bastard, your brother. He’s really got you under the thumb.’

Miki was uncomfortable. She knew people talked about her and Kurt, but she’d never been confronted like this and she couldn’t think what to say, so she dodged Wendy’s eyes.

‘Sorry I’m a straight talker,’ Wendy said. ‘I’ve always been that way. I say things as they are.’

Suzie was wiping the window enthusiastically, water dripping down her pudgy little arm and onto her clothes.

‘Where’s Kurt today?’ Wendy asked Miki.

‘Out the back doing the books.’

Wendy sucked on her cigarette and exhaled a small cloud of smoke. ‘Rubbing his hands over his money, no doubt. You should ask him to buy you some new clothes instead of that old skirt. He can afford it. This place does well for a takeaway. Too well, if you ask me.’

Miki wasn’t sure what this meant. Did Wendy think their prices were too high? ‘Suzie is getting very wet,’ she said, to divert the woman’s attention.