Darren was taken aback. She must have sharp eyes, he hadn’t even noticed her glance at him. ‘I don’t know. Maybe?’

‘It’s the colour that has me concerned. Can I please take a closer look?’

‘Yeah, of course.’

Darren turned sideways, allowing her to examine him. Eventually she said firmly, ‘I’m going to do a shave biopsy. Basically, it means taking a small scraping so I can send it off for testing, okay?’

‘Now?’

‘Yes, the sooner the better.’

Darren felt his shoulders tense. Growing up under the hot Australian sun had meant he’d let himself get sunburnt several times as a kid. And even though there were always plenty of warnings about sun safety and skin cancer, it was one of those things that you never really thought would happen to you.

He turned back to face her. ‘Should I be worried?’

‘Not yet,’ Doctor Clermont said, her voice becoming kinder. ‘Let’s wait and see what we find.’

‘Fair enough.’ Darren still wasn’t thrilled about the whole thing. This was meant to be a routine check-up, nothing to worry about.

‘Before we do it, one last question about your good deed. The friend you’re donating to, how close are you?’

Darren squirmed. ‘It’s my ex and her new partner.’

‘Your ex?’ Doctor Clermont’s composed demeanour slipped for a moment and she adjusted her glasses. ‘I see.’

Her composure returned. ‘And you feel entirely comfortable doing this? Because this isn’t a decision you should take lightly.’

‘Absolutely.’

‘All right, well, it’s still important that you talk to a counsellor about what you’re doing, even if you think it’s no big deal. Especially based on your previous relationship with the recipient.’

‘Got it,’ said Darren.

‘Right, let’s get back to this mole.’

By the time Darren had finally left the doctor’s office, his mind was whirling with thoughts of skin cancer, Sage, legal documents and the image of his sperm doing its thing inside Steph right now. He actually felt a little queasy.

*

Mimi

Mimi supposed she should have read the room. Checked on her daughter’s mood first. Yes, there had been an altercation during the last driving lesson — but at least it had ended with that lovely hug. And so she’d been hoping to replicate that closeness. Perhaps Callie would open up to her and tell her whatever it was that had made her so upset the day she’d gone to see Jill.

Instead, an innocent offer to take her out for another driving lesson after school had resulted in tears — Mimi’s, not Callie’s.

Tara sat up on a stool at the kitchen bench and drummed her hands across Mimi’s back — her attempt at a comforting massage. ‘Want me to go and talk to her for you?’ Tara asked.