Matt pushed past them without a word. Lydia gave Hugh a kiss on the cheek, but ignored Helen. Her eyes were glued to her phone as she walked past, then she stopped in front of the long mirror on the wall, pulled the pyjama top tight against her midriff and took a photo of her reflection, lips pouting like a fish. Hugh didn’t notice. He was too busy checking his pockets for his wallet, keys, handkerchief.

The car journey was short but quiet. Neither of them had much to say. Helen made small talk about the weather, how the nights were getting shorter and the wind over the cliffs colder. He nodded in agreement, his hands gripping the wheel as they drove the dark and twisty roads into the village. They could’ve called a taxi, but Hugh preferred to drive himself, which meant he only ever had one drink with dinner. Helen couldn’t remember ever seeing Hugh drunk. He had managed to get a bit tipsy on champagne at their wedding, but the idea of him ever being inebriated was laughable.

She, on the other hand, often had an overwhelming urge to fall into a large bottle and tread water in it. She didn’t, but the urge was there all the same.

“Darling, are you ok?” she said to him as he stared ahead.

“Yes, yes, fine,” he said.

He parked on the village square. Helen could see her shop across the way, in darkness apart from the light above the sign. She had named the shop “The Owl and The Pussycat” after Mills’ favourite poem when she was younger and the shop’s location close to the sea. The sign was hand-painted by a local artist and illustrated an owl and a pussycat in a pea green boat sailing atop bobbing waves. Tonight it was swaying in the stiff wind, making it look like the boat really was sailing of its own accord.

As Helen looked away, movement inside the shop caught her eye. She stared hard at the window, but could only make out darkness behind. A trick of the light perhaps. Probably a shadow from the trees in the square. She kept her eyes fixed on the window for a little longer, just to be sure, until she heard a subtle cough and turned to see Hugh standing with his hand out impatiently, waiting for her to join him.