‘I know, darling, I’m so sorry.’ I kiss the top of her head and raise my eyes to where Naomi stands awkwardly at the top of the steps. ‘What are you doing here?’ I feel a bubble of irrational anger rising in my throat, ready to pop and spill out fury across the pavement. I think of the blurred picture, trying to match it with Naomi’s face.

‘I came to fetch Mina. Rav called me.’

‘Rav called you?’ I snatch up Mina’s hand, gripping tightly as she tries to twist away from me. ‘Why the hell did he call you? I was coming to get her, I was just a bit late.’

‘You’re nearly an hour late, Al,’ Naomi says quietly, her gaze drifting down to where Mina is pouting, still tugging away from me. ‘The school tried to call you and you didn’t answer your phone. They called Rav, who also couldn’t get hold of you, so he called me and told the school I would be collecting her.’

‘And you were just ready to step in,’ I say bitterly.

‘What?’ Naomi steps forward and I glare at her, pausing her in her tracks. ‘Allie? What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘Ready to step in and be a perfect mother, just like the other day when the baby was crying and I was out in the garden.’ Mina tries to pull her hand away again, starting to cry when I hold it tighter.

‘Allie, don’t be so ridiculous. I picked Leo up because he was crying, that’s all. I was just trying to help.’

‘By taking him out of his cot and away from where I left him, so I didn’t know where he was? What would you have done today? What would have happened if I had arrived to pick up Mina and she was gone because you had already taken her?’ My breath hitches in my chest and I realize Mina is not the only one about to cry. It’s as if everything I know has changed, morphed into something unrecognizable. The sight of Naomi here now, holding Mina by the hand has rattled me even more.

‘Allie, please calm down.’ Naomi does step towards me now, reaching out to rest one hand on my arm. ‘Look, if you hadn’t arrived, I would have taken Mina back to the shop and called and texted you to let you know she was there. I didn’t know you were on your way, I didn’t know what had happened. I just did what Rav asked me to do. I only wanted to help.’

‘I don’t need any help,’ I say, but the words come out weakly. ‘I was just … I lost track of time.’