Mimi didn’t bother to explain that she’d been talking to herself. If only Callie had listened to her when she’d tried to talk her into turning off the Pacific Highway back at Greenwich Road. ‘Let’s do the circuit down near Riverview,’ she’d suggested.

‘No way, I’ve done that heaps. I need more practice on main roads,’ Callie had argued.

And now here they were, about to get breath-tested. Mimi was mortified at the thought of being caught out teaching her teenage daughter to drive with alcohol in her system. But still, would anything register? One or two glasses, she was sure she couldn’t have had more than that.

Three cars in a row in front of them were waved in for testing. And then it happened. The police officer out on the road stepped back and waved them on by with a slight nod of his head. Mimi could have kissed him. Although then he might have smelled the wine on her breath. The relief was so palpable she was certain Callie was going to be able to sense it from her.

Okay, she thought to herself as they drove by, a good ten kilometres under the speed limit, this is your turning point, Mimi. Stop drinking so much on a week night so that nothing like this ever happens again.

Although, at the same time she was still considering the possibility that had she been tested she would have been perfectly fine. Under the limit. After all, she felt fine. It was just that annoying niggling feeling of not knowing exactly how much she’d had. So, maybe she didn’t need to stop drinking altogether during the week; after all, she did still need that little bit of relaxation with a glass of wine in the evening, and what was so wrong with that? Instead, what she needed to do was keep better track of it, so that next time Callie asked her to take her out, she would know with certainty how much she’d had.

‘Mum, are you even listening to me right now?’

Oops, Callie had been talking and she’d been letting the drone of her daughter’s voice wash over her while she indulged in her own thoughts. So much for her plan to connect with Callie as they drove. Instead she was completely ignoring her. What a fantastic mother she was.

‘Sorry, honey, what did you say?’

‘I said I’m going to take a right up ahead so I can do that set of roundabouts. I have to get used to indicating when I’m exiting the roundabout. You know both you and Dad never do it.’

‘Yes well, that’s because it’s stupid and pointless.’

‘Mum! It’s the law!’

‘That doesn’t make it a good idea.’

‘Mum!’