Minnie backed away with a little wave. That was excruciating. Why had she stayed standing there like that? Now all she wanted to do was go to that Edward Hopper exhibition herself to see if the original Automat was there. Clearly she could not do that because it would be weird and stalkerish to follow Quinn around on his Tinder date. Instead, she went back to the printing shop to pick up the present for Bev, back to her attic room full of boxes and a solitary print, back to her list of horrible jobs.

*

‘How was Hopper?’

Minnie lay in bed the next morning looking at the words she had typed out on her phone. Her thumb hovered over the send button. What was she doing? Why was she thinking about texting him? She was just curious to know what had happened with Amanda. Yesterday felt like watching the first half of a movie and then not having the chance to see how it ended. Was it that? No – there were plenty of movies she hadn’t seen the ending to, and it didn’t keep her awake at night.

It was the owls egging her on to text him. The predictable, undiscerning fluttery owls, which would have her embarrass herself in front of a totally unsuitable City boy like Quinn. Minnie pulled the duvet over her head and made a noise like a dying animal. What did she think he was going to say if she sent him a text asking about his date? ‘Oh, Amanda was awful, total bimbo, I wish I had gone with you instead – and you know when you poured your heart out to me about not wanting to compromise in love any more, about wanting someone to fuel the best version of yourself? Well, I want that guy to be me, how about it?’

Why was she even thinking about this? Minnie deleted the text. She wouldn’t text him. She’d just broken up with someone because she was finally starting to place more value on her self-worth. The last thing she needed right now was to fuel some self-esteem-crushing crush on a man like Quinn Hamilton.

New Year’s Eve 2007

‘So what’s this about?’ asked Will. ‘A guy with a fish fetish?’

‘No!’ cried Leila, reaching out to bash his shin with her forearm. She was sitting on the floor of the Coopers’ lounge, while Will sat, legs stretched out, in the cord brown armchair. ‘Splash! It’s an epic love story about star-crossed lovers who want to be together despite their differences – it’s very romantic.’

‘They’re different species, how’s that gonna work? If the mermaid’s got a tail surely she doesn’t have a … you know,’ said Will, grimacing.