“A better question to ask yourself,” Kate replied, “would be why would you want to date her? You’re the catch here, Shawny. Don’t ever forget that.” It was ridiculous, really, the amount of faith Kate had in him. It almost made him believe that he wasn’t actually a dirtbag. Almost. In retrospect, that was probably what he had really wanted that day when he went to visit Kate: not someone who would tell him he was crazy, but someone who would tell him he wasn’t.

This time, there was no coffee and whisky, just weak tea with milk. “I got offered another job,” Shawn said, taking a sip of the greyish water.

“That’s great!” said Kate, pushing her teacup around by the handle with her index finger. “At another restaurant?”

“No. It’s a marketing position at a tech firm. Something completely different.”

“Well,” said Kate, the spinning growing faster. “That sounds exciting!”

Shawn took a deep breath. “The thing is, it’s in Ottawa.” He leaned back in his seat, bracing for her reaction.

“Oh.” Kate was quiet, the only sound in the room the spinning teacup. “Oh dear,” she said finally. “What’s Ottawa? It sounds familiar.”

“It’s…a city?” Shawn said. “Ottawa?” Kate blinked. “Nicki and the girls went there last year to see One Direction.”

“Oh, Ottawa,” Kate said. “Of course, the city. How silly of me.” The teacup suddenly tipped onto its side and the table flooded with liquid. Shawn jumped up and grabbed the roll of paper towels, while Kate just sat there, watching the tea drip to the floor.

Who could he talk to about this? Not Walter, certainly. And not Nicki, either – her default when it came to anything to do with Kate was complete and utter denial. He knew he should want to talk to Katriina, but no matter how that scenario played out in his head, it always ended in a fight. So that night, while Katriina was in the shower, Shawn called Finn.

“There’s something going on with Kate,” he said, keeping one eye on the bathroom door.

“There’s always something going on with Mom,” Finn said.

In the background, he could hear the click of a keyboard, Finn only half paying attention to him, as usual. I’m the only one in the family who ever even calls you, he screamed in his head. The least you could do is get off your stupid laptop.