She watched her friends ricochet from one-night stands to potential relationships to depressing singledom at an alarming rate, all against a backdrop of alcohol-fuelled socials and parties. Over endless rounds of late-night toast and tea, she participated in countless hours helping her new friends analyse the number of drinks consumed, the attractiveness of boys snogged, and the likelihood of going to study in the library the next day. But towards the end of the first term, when Claire discovered she’d put on a stone and received a lower than average grade on an end-of-term paper, she knew that she had to sacrifice a few nights out. Claire had serious plans for her life and they didn’t include being an overweight drinker.

Studying law had always been her dream and if she was honest with herself it wasn’t because of any altruism on her part – it was mainly because she knew it was a high-paying career that would also allow her to use her brain. She’d seen what giving up work had done to her mother and it wasn’t something she’d aspired to. Patricia Sharpe had pushed her husband constantly to apply himself for the next promotion, the next job and while he had always done well, it had never been good enough for her mother. It didn’t help that her father was a cautious spender, even frugal. He always said it was better to keep as much as possible in savings – you just never knew what the future might bring – but it frustrated her mother who wanted everything that the neighbours had and more.

Claire watched as her mother needled and poked her husband for more housekeeping money, a new car, holidays abroad. But the more she pushed, the more closed off her father became. Maybe because he knew it came from a place that wasn’t about enjoyment but more about competing. Either way, Claire had vowed that she would never be reliant on a man for money.

Just then, Chris came out of the shower, towel wrapped around his waist, dripping wet.

‘Like what you see?’ He grinned suggestively at her, doing a little shimmy towards the bed. It was impossible not to laugh.

‘Chris! You’re getting everything wet!’ She giggled as he came and jumped on the bed, wrapping her in a damp hug.

‘You’re gorgeous, you know that?’ he announced as he kissed her. ‘Even in the mornings.’ He winked. She swatted him away and watched him as he dried himself off and got dressed.

‘Mummy!’ The voice came from the room next door.

‘Jamie’s awake,’ she said, as she got up from the bed.