Off work for the school in-service day. Before the Brownie camp was announced I’d assumed Izzy would be home, but instead I have a free day stretching out ahead of me. Determined to make use of it this time, I go for a swim and a sauna, the latter of which helps me to literally sweat out the last residues of shame. Back home, I spruce up the house before setting off to pick up Izzy from the Brownie hut. By now, I have managed to convince myself that the omelette mission was nothing more than an amusing jape.

That’s why I’ve allowed a little extra time to pop in on Penny. As predicted, she is quite hysterical with laughter when I tell her about my Saturday night. ‘This,’ she says, ‘is possibly the most brilliant thing I’ve ever heard.’

‘You don’t think I’m unhinged?’

‘Of course you are!’ she hoots. ‘But there’s no real harm done. It was only a soft, harmless omelette.’

I nod. ‘It’s not as if I pelted his windscreen with tins of baked beans.’

‘Not that I’d blame you if you had.’ She smiles. ‘So, you’re still angry with him, aren’t you?’

I exhale. ‘I probably shouldn’t be. I mean, it’s been six months since he left. I should be used to it and pretty cool about everything …’

‘What’s all this “should”?’ she asks. ‘You feel how you feel, Viv. No need to make excuses or apologise for it.’

‘Yeah.’ I nod, grateful that Nick isn’t here. I wouldn’t want him to think I’m some kind of maniac. ‘Sometimes,’ I add, ‘the anger just wells up in me and I can’t help it.’

She touches my arm. ‘That’s understandable.’

‘But what if I never get over it, Penny?’ I ask. ‘What if I spend the rest of my life feeling furious, hating him, wanting to leave cold fried foods on his beloved car? I can’t bear to go on feeling like this. He’s Izzy’s dad, so he’ll always be around, whether I like it or not …’

‘Look,’ she says, ‘you’re not always like this, are you? Most of the time, you’re amazingly calm and sensible about everything.’

I look down at the floor. ‘I wouldn’t say that.’

‘And the omelette thing? It just came to you, and you ran with it. There’s no harm done.’

‘I guess so,’ I say, wishing I could tell her what the main trigger had been; i.e. being upset over the proposal for the museum, and Andy failing to understand why it had mattered so much. ‘Please don’t tell Nick about this,’ I add as I’m leaving.

‘Why not?’ she asks.

‘Because he might not approve. He’ll think I’m crazy.’