In the centre of the kitchen there was a round table, where we sat while Emily sliced and whizzed and put things in the oven. Andrew and I shared a bottle of white wine, while he interrogated me about my childhood.

‘That must have been hard,’ he said.

‘Which? When he walked out or when he died?’

‘Both. But I meant when he walked out. And refused to see you. God knows I haven’t lived a perfect life but I’ve always seen Sophie regularly.’

I looked up to see if Emily would look at me, but she kept facing the other way, stirring something in a pot.

‘He still saw me occasionally. It was my sister he stopped talking to for a while.’

‘How was that for her?’

‘I mean, she got over it. Did she? We both grew up quite quickly after it happened. Don’t let me go on about it. It’s nothing remarkable.’

‘And your mother?’ he said.

‘She…’

‘You needn’t go on if you don’t want to.’

‘No, it’s fine. She was a teacher too, like her brother and two sisters. The other two sisters were nurses. They all went for responsible, valuable, realistic careers. Lived in realistic places suitable for raising healthy kids on realistic incomes. It’s embarrassing, really.’

‘It should be the absolute opposite. You should be proud of them.’

‘I am. I’m embarrassed about the contrast I present.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ said Emily, from the chopping board. ‘Your choices have probably made you much happier than theirs made them.’

‘Even if that were true, I can’t see why that should make me any less embarrassed.’

‘You really did grow up Catholic,’ said Andrew.

‘What time’s Sophie due?’ asked Emily.

‘Soon,’ said Andrew. ‘And what was it like at your school, Paul?’

I told him.

‘You need to be careful, Paul.’

‘Careful?’

‘Of relying too much on stories of hardship to explain your lack of direction.’

‘I didn’t say anything about hardship. It was fine – it just didn’t have very high ambitions for us.’

‘Some people aren’t given advantages. I sympathise. But what can you do with my sympathy?’

‘It was you who brought up my school. I was minding my own business.’

‘I just think you need to think more positively. Act yourself into the right role. I grew up working class.’

‘But don’t you think the era made some practical difference to you? With grammar schools, plausible house prices…’

‘You sound like my daughter.’

‘You don’t,’ said Emily.

Then the doorbell rang and Andrew went to let Sophie in.

*