Tina took her coat off and sat down heavily. ‘I swear to you, Nevaya is doing my head in. The last couple of weeks she’s worse than ever. You should have heard her this morning, talking to me as if I was a piece of shit on her shoe.’ She’d never been good at holding things back. ‘I’ve told her again to go and live with her mam, hopefully she’ll take my advice and piss off there before I get home. Chris is a bloody waste of time; he lets her get away with it time after time. I can’t anymore. I just want to punch her lights out and I’m not even a violent person. She’s pushing me over the edge, let me tell you.’

Donny sighed, there was always something going on with Tina. Nothing was ever plain sailing in her life.

Rita headed for the door. She had enough problems of her own, couldn’t be doing with anyone else’s.

‘Tina, do you want a nice hot cuppa? You sit down there, and I’ll do you a few bits of toast and something to drink. Maybe that’ll help.’

Tina sighed. ‘I need more than a bloody cup of tea to sort me out, love. A couple of diazepam and a stiff brandy more like it. But, aye, thanks, Rita. A cup of coffee’d be a start.’

When he was sure Rita was out of earshot, Donny turned to Tina. ‘Something strange going on with that one. Keep a close eye on her, Tina, she’s up to something. She’s never nice to anyone without wanting something in return.’

Tina agreed. ‘Yeah, she’s never ever offered me a drink in all the time I’ve known her. Maybe she’s had a win on those scratchcards she’s always doing.’

Tina switched her computer on and scanned through her emails. ‘We’ve got a meeting with Ged’s mother, says he’s been acting up. She seems quite concerned about him. His dad’s due out of jail soon too and she reckons the shit is going to hit the fan when she tells Ged that she doesn’t want him home. Maybe that’s what all this is about. It’s his dad at the end of the day. No surprise that he’s kicking off.’