Despite Leila’s offer to fetch her, Minnie said she would rather come to hers. By the time she arrived on Leila’s doorstep she had stopped crying. She now felt nervous about being here. Though they’d met for a few coffees in town, she hadn’t been to Leila’s flat since their fight. She also hadn’t seen Ian in three months but, as far as Minnie knew, he hadn’t proposed yet. Surely she would still be the first person to hear if he’d asked the question?

Ian had sent her a text after the fight, saying he felt responsible for her and Leila falling out. He said he’d told Leila about their conversation, tried to broker a peace. Yet strangely their argument had felt like it was about more than just the business. Years of being so close, rubbing against each other’s hard edges, finally causing a friction fire that needed to burn itself out. Perhaps, like in the aftermath of a wildfire, there would now be room for new shoots.

As Leila opened the door, Minnie’s eye went instantly to her hand just to check there wasn’t something there she hadn’t been told about. No ring. She felt her chest decompress. If there had been a ring, if Ian had proposed and Leila hadn’t told her – it might have felt like the death knell for their friendship.

‘Min, what’s happened?’

Leila wrapped her arms around her and Minnie sank into her with a heaving sob. It wasn’t even about Quinn bloody Hamilton any more, it was about her friend hugging her in a way she hadn’t been hugged for months and only now, this second, realising how deeply she had missed her.

‘Quinn Hamilton,’ Minnie sniffed.

‘Whaaat?’ Leila clenched her hands around Minnie’s shoulders and dragged her into the flat. ‘I knew it, I knew that was on the cards! How, when, where? Tell me everything.’

‘Nothing happened. I ran into him this morning at Hampstead Ponds.’

‘Since when do you go to Hampstead Ponds?’ Leila drew her head back into a ‘do I know you at all?’ expression.

‘I always used to swim, remember, before life got busy. I thought I’d finally listen to Jean and try outside. Anyway, I ran into Quinn and we went for breakfast and … ’ Minnie let out a loud exhale, blinking her eyes closed. ‘Leila, we got on so well. I don’t know, he was just being so normal and funny and strangely vulnerable, not arrogant and obnoxious like before. We ended up going to the zoo and—’

‘The zoo?’

‘He wanted to adopt a penguin.’

‘Classic day date.’

‘What do you mean day date?’

‘Zoo is a classic day date. Looking at all those animals humping each other – starts you thinking about sex. He suggested it? You only take someone to the zoo if you want to hump them too.’