‘Actually,’ Heather said, ‘I visited Pam this morning.’

There was a beat of silence. That was not what Rachel expected. Tully went oddly, unnaturally still.

Heather seemed to realise her error and responded by stammering. ‘It’s just . . . the nursing home was on my way here so I . . .’

‘You and Dad went?’ Tully asked after a moment. Her voice sounded funny.

‘Er, no – just me.’

Heather looked very unsure of herself now. Rachel wanted to jump in and say something to ease the tension but she found herself, once again, at a loss. Heather had gone to see Mum? Why would she do that?

‘It probably sounds odd to you,’ Heather said. ‘But I’ve spent quite a bit of time with Pam over the past year and we became – not friends, exactly, but . . . I don’t know.’ Heather’s hands trembled as she continued. ‘Obviously her condition deteriorated a lot over that time, and our conversations became more limited, but when she wasn’t agitated, I found her to be good company. We had some . . . some great chats.’

‘Wow,’ Rachel said. ‘I hadn’t thought about the fact that you actually met Mum. It makes sense that you developed some sort of . . . relationship with her.’

Rachel glanced at Tully, who remained deathly still.

‘What did you and Mum chat about?’ Rachel asked.

‘Cooking, mostly,’ Heather said. ‘I’m a terrible cook. Pam was always asking me what I was having for dinner, and when I said I didn’t know, she’d give me a recipe. Then she’d give it to me again. And again. I can recite her recipe for chicken, lemon and feta pie verbatim.’

‘The chicken, lemon and feta pie?’ Rachel exclaimed. ‘That recipe is meant to be a family secret!’

‘If it helps,’ Heather said, ‘I struggle to fry an egg.’

‘Sorry,’ Tully said, ‘I’m still confused as to why you would want to go see our mum – your boyfriend’s current wife. It’s a bit weird, don’t you think?’

‘Tully –’ Rachel started.

Tully put down her glass – which was nearly empty – and shrugged. ‘I’m just saying, I don’t know why you’d want to.’ She looked at Heather.

‘I guess because I don’t have any family of my own . . .’

‘You want us to be your family?’ Tully finished.

‘Actually, yes,’ Heather said. She looked from Tully to Rachel and sighed. ‘I know how strange it must be, having your dad dating someone while your mum is still alive – not to mention someone so much younger. And I’m so sorry about it, honestly I am. But the fact is, I’m in love with your father. So, yes, I want to be part of his family. And, odd as it sounds, that includes your mum.’

There was something about the simplicity of it, the straightforwardness, that Rachel found compelling, if a little jarring. Even Tully was stunned silent by it. But despite the certainty with which Heather spoke, the hand holding the glass of wine was still shaking.