She walked around the truck to where Steve was standing. ‘You want a divorce?’

‘It’s the best thing.’ He thumped the roof of the truck with the palm of his hand. The veins were pronounced at his temples. ‘I need to build my life back up, Mandy. I need to get out of this.’

Steve moved to take William from her and she took a step backwards. Her throat was tight, her words painful. ‘Will you at least tell me where you’re headed? I need to know where you both are. Please.’

He considered her a while. ‘Marlo,’ he said, eventually. He held his hands out for William. ‘I thought we’d head for Marlo.’

‘The cabin?’

‘That’s right. Not sure how long we’ll stop there, mind. Depends how long it takes to sell up.’

‘Sell up?’

‘The house.’

‘What?’ Steve reached out again and she turned away. Her blouse was soaked through with her own sweat and the boy’s body heat. ‘You’re selling the house?’

‘That’s right. I’ll give you half of whatever I get for it. I’ve left some cash on the kitchen table to last you till then.’

‘Steve, I don’t want this. Please don’t go.’

Steve put his hands under William’s arms and peeled his body away from hers. She let out a moan as he did it, a noise she didn’t recognise. The baby’s warmth stayed in her fingers and she held them to her face. Her moan became deeper and louder until she was sobbing from the base of her throat and she couldn’t speak and there were no words anyway, she had nothing left to say. She reached out to Steve, gripped his arm, but he shook her off. The coldness in him was impenetrable. She was making a scene in full view of the whole street and he seemed barely to notice.

He put the baby in a blanket box at the foot of the passenger seat and handed him a teether. She knelt down at the side of the truck, her knees burning on the bitumen, and kissed the crown of the boy’s head. She let him grab her hair, her clothes. She wailed into the soft pit of his neck.

‘Will you calm down, Amanda?’

She stood and made an effort to catch her breath. She wiped her face. ‘Are you trying to punish me?’

He slammed the passenger door and walked around to the driver’s side. ‘The bills are all paid up in advance,’ he said, as if she hadn’t spoken. ‘I’ll be in touch when I’ve got the house on the market.’

She stood hopelessly by as he climbed into the truck. He was a stranger to her. This was the way he was when he took children away; she could see it now, the man he became. Focused and powerful, ruthless. Was this the man William’s mum had met? Was this how she felt?

‘Don’t do this!’ She screamed at him, gulping for air. ‘Please don’t go!’

Bay Street was bright and calm, indifferent. A few yards away, Douglas Blunt snipped rhythmically at his hedge.