Inside, she hung her coat over the banisters, kicked off her shoes and walked barefoot to the living room as she scrolled through her list of contacts for Petra’s number. Molly flopped onto the sofa as she waited for the phone to ring, hoping her friend would be at home.

She was in luck; it was answered almost immediately. They chatted regularly so it wasn’t unusual for her to ring, and her friend greeted her with her customary cheerful, ‘Hiya Molly.’

Relaxing, Molly spent the first several minutes telling her friend about the weekend. ‘I should never have gone without Jack.’ She was tempted to tell her about the stranger she’d met but she didn’t. Not because she was afraid her friend would be surprised or shocked, she’d long come to realise that Petra was virtually unshockable, but because the episode had taken on an unreal dreamlike quality. If she didn’t talk about it, the whole thing, along with the guilt and humiliation, would fade away. It was better that way.

‘I was surprised you did,’ Petra said. ‘Actually, I thought you were crazy. Amelia is a lovely dash of psychedelic colour in our conservative grey world, but I’ve found a little of her goes a long way.’

‘She’s probably saying the same about me,’ Molly laughed. ‘I’ve been a bit preoccupied recently and possibly wasn’t the best of company.’

‘You’re missing the kids. A touch of empty nest, I’d guess.’

Molly swallowed a groan. Why was everyone so quick to practice their armchair psychology on her. At least, Petra hadn’t asked if she were menopausal too. Before she was tempted to do so, Molly brought the conversation around to the real reason she had phoned.

‘How’s Simon?’ she asked as a first step and listened to Petra telling her how wonderful her darling husband was for several minutes. When there was a miniscule lull, she dived in. ‘Good to hear,’ she said. ‘Jack has been a bit stressed recently and he’s looking very pale. It seems to be a bit manic at work. I’d love to be able to empathise with him.’ She thought that sounded suitably psychobabbly. ‘But it’s hard when I don’t know what’s going on, and he’s like your Simon, way too macho to admit if there are problems.’

‘Gosh, yes, they’re two of a kind.’

Molly gave what she hoped would pass for an amused laugh. ‘Peas in a pod. Men, we have to protect them from themselves, don’t we?’ She waited for her friend’s laughter to die down. ‘That pal of yours, Nicole, who works in Jack’s firm, you wouldn’t fish a little, see if you could find out something, would you?’

The indrawn breath told her that, for once, she’d surprised her friend. Molly shut her eyes and swore softly under her breath.