‘I’m fine, Shone, truly. It’s just been such an age and I wanted to touch base. Fix up a time we could meet. Just you and me?’ Esther could hear the beat of a pause as Shona hesitated. She and Carole ‘moved as a team’, was what she always liked to say, and Esther, in the past, had done her best to respect that; but, with her new, clear head, it seemed suddenly just as reasonable that members of teams should be allowed some time away from each other, especially if it was to enable a long overdue catch-up with an erstwhile close friend.

‘Can I get back to you on that? I mean, it would be lovely. But otherwise… how are you, Esther?’

The readiness to pity was there again, and it made Esther defiant. ‘I am seriously happy, thanks, on all fronts. Dylan and Lily have been going through various ups and downs, but nothing that can’t be sorted. Work is in a good, busy phase and… well… you might be interested to know that you are speaking to a woman who has recently enjoyed a night of unbridled passion with a hot young actor…’

Shona yelped. ‘Who? How? When? Is it serious?’

Esther laughed. ‘No, it’s not serious, and that’s the best thing about it. But you get to your call now and I’ll tell you all about it another time. Just let me know some dates that work, even if it is months away, and we’ll make it happen.’

Esther drove for a few more miles before ringing Viv. Since the chances of a call being taken were slim, she wanted her voice message clear in her head. No rambling, no hint of self-pity. She would make it about wanting to see Viv, for Viv. The Marcus adventure would get a mention, and feeling on top of life, but not a lot else. She would suggest the cinema, Esther decided, pleased at the idea, some soppy romcom for just the two of them. She would say she missed their closeness and wanted it back. She would say that she bloody loved her.

‘Why did you drive anyway?’ Lily said, clutching the chocolate and putting her nose in the carnations after they had said their hellos.

‘Because I actually like driving and didn’t fancy a dark and dingy train-ride back tonight,’ Esther replied mildly, inwardly flinching at how much more washed-out her daughter looked since the weekend; her normally shiny hair tucked, thin and flat, behind her small ears, and her lovely milky skin broken by faint red patches round her chin and mouth. ‘Something smells good.’