We stared across at the silo as a group of cockatoos wheeled in and landed on the top.

‘You close to your dad? Is he still with your mum?’

Basil reached out and took my hand. ‘So, they all told me not to do this, Anna, not to get involved, but I can’t do it.’ I looked up at his face. His eyes were green, I saw, not brown as I had assumed. They were lighter than I’d expected, the green only obvious this close up. He was wearing silver eyeliner today. It made his face really striking. The warmth coming off his hands was real and, looking at his eyes, which didn’t look away from mine, which were unafraid of mine, I realised that he cared for me, genuinely and deeply. ‘I have to –’

Without thinking I leaned in and put my lips on his, pressing the warmth of them enough to get the taste of him.

Basil leapt back. ‘Whoa,’ he said. ‘Shit, no.’

‘Fuck!’ I said. He tasted so different from Nassim. It was a shock. ‘Sorry. I actually really didn’t mean that. I have no idea why I just did that.’

‘No, no, no,’ said Basil. ‘We can’t be doing that. You can’t be doing that with me. That’s not what I meant at all.’

‘Me neither. Really, really truly. I don’t know what happened.’

‘Look,’ he said. ‘I think you’re great, and –’

‘No, be quiet. It’s fine – I’m all screwed up, like with everything, with my boyfriend, with all of me, my body has gone mad. My hormones are all screwed.’ I put my head in my hands. ‘I’m so messed up right now.’

‘Okay, okay. I get it.’ Basil seemed significantly rattled, genuinely lost for words. ‘It’s just the lady-time crazy. The maxipads. I get it. No biggy.’

‘Yes. I mean no. No. It’s not that sort of lady-time crazy.’

I looked up at him hopelessly. He was looking at me, confused and blushing.

‘It’s the other lady-crazy,’ I said. And when he was still looking completely at a loss, I said, ‘I’m pregnant. It’s the pregnant crazy.’

‘You’re . . .?’

‘Pregnant.’

‘Fuck.’

‘Yep.’

‘Fuck.’

‘Totally.’

He looked shocked. And it was great. I felt not so alone. Telling him felt light, for a moment. And then it felt dangerous and I instantly wished I could un-tell him. Because immediately it felt so incredibly true.

He was shaking his head with wonder. ‘Your boyfriend know?’

‘No. Nassim –’ I said, the words disappearing as my throat constricted. ‘Ex-boyfriend. Those texts –’ And I began to cry again.

‘Oh man,’ Basil said. ‘Man oh man, you are just crying a bunch today.’ And he hugged me this time. ‘I can totally absolutely see why you would need to pash a guy, just to take your mind off things.’

I laughed through tears. He was so good at making me laugh.

‘So, but I don’t really get it,’ he went on. ‘Is that why . . .? I mean, couldn’t you have told him?’