He shook his head at her again. ‘From here?’

‘Leanne will help out. Dan, there’s no point going crazy over it –’

‘I’m sick of doing fucking sums,’ he said. ‘All right? I’m fucking sick of it. Every single fucking thing we do we count our pennies. What’s the point in coming away if we’re going to be sweating over every single fucking thing, like we always do?’

‘I know. It’s annoying.’

Alex came out with a tray piled with plates, a baguette balanced diagonally across the top of it. He stopped when he saw the way they were standing, like boxers in a ring.

‘What’s happened?’

‘We’ve lost the tenant for our flat,’ said Bea.

‘Oh. Huh.’ He thought about it. ‘Is that the end of the world?’

‘No,’ said Bea.

They ate leftover cheese with stale baguette and some fruit and cut-up cucumber.

‘The pâté looked a bit wrong,’ said Alex. ‘I binned it.’ He had brought wine but stuck to water, draining glass after glass. ‘I really don’t drink that much alcohol,’ he said.

Bea drank water with him in solidarity. Dan got a beer from the fridge and ate lunch like a chore he had to get through, using the beer to wash it down, then got up from the table.

‘Listen, is it OK if I use the computer in reception? I need to try and sort things out and my laptop is shit.’

‘Whatever,’ said Alex. ‘Mi casa, etc.’

Dan forced himself to smile. ‘Thanks.’

‘Airbnb?’ she called after him. ‘Do you want a hand?’ But he didn’t answer, just went in, tripping on the sill into the dining room and having to right himself, even more bad-tempered.

Alex giggled.

‘Don’t,’ said Bea.

‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘But he needs to chill.’

‘He’s worried.’

‘You’re not.’

‘I probably should be.’

‘It’s different for us,’ said Alex.

‘Yes,’ she said, ‘it is.’

Together, they got up from the table, and lay down on the grass, she with her head in the shade of the table, because she was too fair for sun. He gazed up at the bubbling white clouds.

‘Is Dan really an artist?’ he said.

She was offended. ‘He’s not an estate agent,’ she said.

‘What’s wrong with being an estate agent?’ said Alex.

‘Would you do it?’

‘Me? No, but I’m a brat.’

‘You’re not.’

There was a long silence. The clouds moved slowly above.

‘Alex,’ she said carefully, ‘was it true, what you said about going to online meetings?’

He gave her sidelong glance. ‘Why would I pretend to go to meetings?’

‘It has been known.’

‘Fair point. But I swear, Bea, the NA online community is like one big family.’

‘Alex –’

‘I log off before they get to that serenity prayer bullshit.’

‘But you’re drinking.’

‘Yeah but they don’t know that, do they?’

She gave up.

‘All right,’ he said, ‘I’m sorry. It’s a webcam thing, like a poker table, yeah? And everyone talks about their various shit. On the wagon, off the wagon, down the toilet. Or you can do forums. I love a forum. I’m an expert at group.’