Slamming her own front door shut, she sat on the stairs and took a minute to catch her breath. Her fingers trembled, knowing she needed to be in control and less jumpy when Mario came home. Her eyes roved over her neat little home. Home. The place where she had raised her kids, cooked endless meals, slept for thousands of nights, nursed her family when they were sick and helped them celebrate so many milestones. A small blue confetti heart clung to the wainscot beneath the radiator, trying to evade detection. Bess bent down and plucked it from its hiding place, but instead of scrunching it in her fingertips, she laid it on the thigh of her jeans and smoothed it, deciding to pop it in her purse as a good-luck charm. She recalled Jake’s face when Natalie launched the confetti cannon, beaming and happy on his special day, and her heart soared . . . It was Daniel who had made him smile like that, Daniel who she should be thanking, not judging.

‘You stupid woman, Bess.’

She let her head hang down and closed her eyes, recalling the feel of Mario, the weight of him warm and trusting as he lay against her earlier. She wanted more of that contact, more of that intimacy. Placing her hands on her chest, she felt a surge of something close to hope. She raised her eyes to the heavens and then closed them briefly, beyond relieved that she had not made the costliest of mistakes.

Jumping up, she decided to make herself look nice for when he got home and to put a bottle of plonk in the fridge to chill. She might even suggest an early night, with Chutney scooted from the bottom of the bed.

It was unusual for her loyal dog not to come and herald her arrival. Having dumped her bag on the hall table, she went to find him in his basket, where he sat with his head on his paws and his eyes following her every move. Bending down, she rubbed his ears and kissed his sweet head.

‘I’m sorry, Chuts; I know I left you longer than I said I would, but I’m home now. Did you miss me? Are you mad with me? Is that it – are you sulking? And I know I’ve been a bit of a grump, but I promise you, happy mummy is coming back. I need to fix it, don’t I? I have so much – I do, I have so much.’ Only as she stood to go upstairs and clean her teeth did she notice the large pool of dark yellow pee on the floor by the back door. This caused her tears to spring as guilt, her old friend, came knocking.