‘Yes,’ I say, ‘she called me earlier. Everything’s fine.’ I wonder now if I should have gone into The Daisy Chain when I received her text this morning, spoken to her face to face instead of over the phone, but I still feel odd about the way I felt seeing her with Rav while I was outside, looking in. ‘What about you? Have you spoken to her today?’

Rav shakes his head, pushes the breadbasket towards me. ‘If you won’t eat the fish, at least have some bread.’

‘I don’t want any, I’m not hungry. So, you didn’t speak to her at all today?’ I thought he would have – it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that the two of them had talked about Rav making my doctor’s appointment before he booked it, after what I overheard yesterday evening.

‘No, Allie, I didn’t speak to her. Maybe you should mention your appetite to the doctor when you go? I thought you needed the extra calories when you feed the baby yourself?’ He frowns, his voice holding a vague note of concern and I feel a pang of guilt before I chase it away with a swig of wine. Anyone can fake concern. I reach for a small piece of bread, buttering it slowly.

‘I had a big lunch,’ I lie. ‘Listen, I told you yesterday, you don’t need to worry. I am absolutely fine. Tired, but that’s to be expected. I honestly don’t need to see the doctor.’ He opens his mouth and I hold up a hand. ‘But if that’s what you want, I’ll go. I haven’t mentioned anything about the bones, or being watched, or anything else weird, have I?’ A bite creeps into my tone, irritation leaching through.

‘No. No, you haven’t. Of course, you know how you feel better than I do. You know best.’ He shrugs, but there is something off in his tone. He doesn’t believe me. ‘Do you want to split a pudding, or should I just get the bill? You do look tired. I shouldn’t have made you come out.’ He gets to his feet.