‘Yesss,’ said Heather. ‘Line it up.’ She turned back to Andrea. ‘Fuck off, nosy cow.’ Then she fixed her eyes on Violet. ‘And you can fuck off too, little cow traitor.’

Violet’s eyes filled with tears and Andrea grabbed her hand again and took her quickly out of the apartment.

Out in the hall, Andrea knelt down in front of Violet and wrapped her in a hug. ‘Don’t listen to her,’ she said firmly. ‘She doesn’t know what she’s saying right now. Don’t even think about it. I’m going to take you back to my place and you can sleep in the giant bed in our spare room. And if you want, you can have Monkey with you tonight; have I ever told you about Monkey?’

‘No,’ said Violet.

‘Monkey was my most favourite toy when I was a kid. When I grew up and started thinking I didn’t need toys anymore, I could never bring myself to give Monkey away. So I kept him. And he came with me when I moved out and when I travelled overseas, and when I got married. And now he lives on the window seat in my living room so he can look out at the view. But he could probably use a good cuddle. Want to look after him for me tonight?’

‘Yes, please.’

Andrea stood up and led Violet down the hall back to her place.

*

Jill

Dear Frank,

I can’t seem to stop writing to you. I keep telling myself it’s pointless. These letters aren’t going to magically find their way to you. But the problem is, I still want to tell you things. So I keep pretending.

It’s two in the morning and I’ve been lying here in bed trying to fall asleep since eleven. Three hours staring at the ceiling in the half darkness, thinking about all the things I’ve done wrong throughout my life — my mistakes, my inadequacies, my sins. Maybe I’d fall asleep easier if I made it pitch black, but I still can’t bring myself to turn off those lights. I need those islands of warmth throughout the house so the darkness doesn’t completely close in.

Sometimes during the day I can cope with the lack of sleep. I can pull myself together with cup after cup of tea. But other times, I’m like a walking zombie and I don’t know how I make it through the day.

I opened the email. But then I read the first line: ‘Jill, I tried to tell you this once before.’ And I thought, who the hell do you think you are? So I closed it again.