‘Good thanks! I just stopped off to get some scones for after our meal tonight. Ian came back last night for a week.’

‘That’s great – you must be happy to have him back.’

‘Yes, very much,’ replied Linda. ‘Listen…’

Claire waited and hoped that whatever would come next would just be something simple like a playdate request. Whenever someone started a conversation with Listen, it was never good.

‘I wanted to say sorry for getting confused about seeing Chris when we last met. Thinking about it after, I realised it wasn’t him at all. Sometimes, I just get so busy that my mind isn’t thinking straight.’

Claire looked at her friend, realising what she was trying to do.

‘It’s okay Linda, honestly. It probably was Chris that you saw. We’ve— That is— He’s been—’ Claire struggled to finish and as she saw the look of concern on Linda’s face, tears started streaming down Claire’s face and she reached for a tissue, frantically wiping them. But they wouldn’t stop and Linda slowly guided Claire to sit back down before pulling up her own chair opposite her, the bag of scones between them. Linda was quiet, only handing tissue after tissue as Claire let the tears fall, releasing some of the stress and worry from her body.

Claire realised she didn’t need to explain anything to Linda and Claire felt the tears lessen.

‘Is there anything I can do?’ asked Linda quietly, one hand on Claire’s back rubbing it gently.

‘No, but thank you. I’m so sorry – I don’t usually break down in the middle of coffee shops. And you were only here to get some scones!’ said Claire, trying to cover up her embarrassment with a joke.

Linda smiled. ‘Don’t worry I’ve had my fair share of crying in public places,’ she reassured.

‘Really?’ replied Claire, doubtfully.

‘Yep! Mainly just after Luke was born. I would suddenly be out with him minding my own business and then the next thing, the waterworks!’

Claire smiled back. ‘Yes, I remember those days too. Actually, it’s not just problems with Chris – we have some stuff going on with Joshua at the moment as well, so it’s been a bit of a stressful time.’

Linda nodded and waited to see if Claire would continue.

‘Joshua has been accused of rape,’ said Claire finally. The words felt strange on her tongue and as she saw Linda’s face turn from sympathetic to confused to something else indefinable, she knew she’d made a mistake confiding in Linda.

‘What do you mean? By who? How?’ Linda’s questions came out quickly, panic overtaking curiosity, and Claire watched Linda work through her confusion.

‘But Claire, Joshua babysat my son, what are you saying? Are the police involved?’