‘They said they’d buy us a place if we get pregnant.’

‘If I get pregnant.’

‘What?’

‘We don’t get pregnant, I get pregnant. You get an orgasm. I get fat feet and a ripped-up vagina.’

Rav winced. ‘You said you wanted children.’

‘I do.’

‘We’re in our mid-thirties.’

‘I’m aware.’

‘They’d help us get a place. Somewhere around here. Somewhere like Guy and Lissy’s.’

‘In exchange for giving them a grandchild.’

‘I know, it’s not exactly the most “no strings attached” offer.’

Chloe put the remote down. ‘It’s the Pinocchio of offers.’

‘But if we were planning to have a baby anyway, why don’t we just take them up on it, get the house, get on with having kids, get our life moving?’

‘I like our life.’

‘I like our life, too, but come on. All our friends have kids. We love kids. We’ve always said that we want children. Your job is stable. My job is stable. How could it possibly be a bad idea?’

He was right. Obviously, he was right. If two healthy people in their mid-thirties who had some disposable income and the prospect of a stable home really wanted children, then it was a no-brainer. But recently Chloe had felt herself getting restless. Feeling trapped by their flat, her job, their friends. All of it was so … neat. So identikit. It was a slightly cooler, more urban version of what her mother had chosen for her life. They were increasingly able to share conversations about gardening and bedlinen. At some point in the past she had stopped being young-young and slid into the strange twilight world where people referred to her as ‘the lady’ when they were instructing their kids to move out of the way for her, where she never got ID’d when she was buying wine. Having a baby felt like the last nail in the coffin, an admission that she really was an adult. And she would not just be an adult, but a mother.

It was fine for Rav. He would be a cool dad. Disneyland, and endless games. Breaking the rules that Chloe made. She could see it all perfectly clearly. She would be in charge of making things run properly. The glue that held the entire thing together. And Rav would be the one the child wanted cuddles and stories with. The glitter that made life fun.

Chloe knew she wasn’t the most exciting person in the world. She wasn’t even the most exciting person in most rooms. But there had been a time when it felt as if that might change. As if there were some sparkle inside her that just needed to be released. Glitter potential. Somehow, having a baby felt like the final admission that the magic wasn’t going to happen. She sighed.

‘Okay. Let’s start trying.’