‘So, how’s life treating you?’ he asks. The smile that follows is warm and friendly. The other two – Reuben and Harry – have already greeted her and are now standing next to them, leaning over the bar engaged in a heated debate about something medical she won’t even try to make sense of.

Marty is a cardiothoracic surgeon and Greg’s closest friend at work. She had no idea what cardiothoracic meant when she first applied for a job at St. Thomas’, but she’d made sure she did her research, spending hours filling herself up with medical information that wouldn’t ever come up in the interview. Although she’d had plenty of admin experience, none of it was in the medical field, so she needed an advantage to make her interviewers believe she was the only person for the job. It was never intended to be a career, just something interesting to delve into while she waited for inspiration to hit.

‘Very well thanks, Marty.’ She pats his arm. ‘How about you? How are you doing?’

He points to his wife who, as usual, is keeping her distance, huddled at the bar with Eva and Nikki. Sienna likens it to the huddles of mothers in a school playground, forming a clique and deliberately excluding others, although, having no children, Sienna’s never experienced this. The three women have barely acknowledged her since she got there, and the little they have said has been only to ask where Greg is. She knows, without having witnessed it, that Holly would never have had this issue.

‘Jo and the kids always keep me busy,’ Marty says. ‘Oh, and the surgeries, of course.’ He laughs.

This is something else she likes about Marty – he’s a top surgeon in his field, and works just as hard as Greg, yet his wife and children always come first. They are what make him truly content and fulfilled, this is clear for anyone to see. And even now, after being married for far longer than she and Greg, he still can’t keep his eyes off Joanna.

‘So, how’s Jackson?’ Marty asks.

‘He’s great. Doing well at school.’ She makes it sound like she knows this first-hand, yet all she’s doing is relaying what Greg passes on. ‘He was with me after school this afternoon, as Holly had something she needed to do.’ This makes it sound as though she knows Holly well, as if they are friends who are aware of each other’s movements. Sienna hopes that by mentioning her, Marty might reveal something – anything – about the woman. He’d known her well when she and Greg were married, so it stands to reason that he’d be someone who could share some information. Sienna just has to be careful how she approaches it; everyone knows that Greg is reluctant to talk about his previous marriage.

‘Ah, Holly,’ he mutters. ‘How is she?’