Darren leaned down and picked up a stick from the grass. He waved it in front of the dog. ‘Want this? You want this?’ He threw it across the park and the dog cocked his head to the side and stayed put. He seemed to be giving Darren a look that said, What did you throw it away for?

‘You’re supposed to fetch it.’ Darren checked around the dog’s neck. ‘No collar,’ he said.

‘You’re going to take the damn thing home, aren’t you?’

‘No. First I’m going to take it to the vet and check if it’s chipped. Then I’m going to take it home.’

Pete threw up his hands. ‘Yeah, all right, maybe it’ll give you inspiration.’

‘Did you hear Tony’s already over halfway with his second book?’

‘Don’t compare yourself to Tony, that’s not going to help.’

‘But don’t you think it’s weird? Writing was always our thing. And then out of the blue he’s written a fucking masterpiece.’

Pete sighed. ‘It is bloody good, isn’t it?’

‘Right? How the hell did he pull that out of his arse?’

‘Cut him some slack. It must have been hard seeing both of us get published if all along he liked writing too. You know he’s always felt a bit on the outer with us.’

‘Yeah, but that’s not our fault. He never wanted to hang out with us growing up. We used to offer him a turn on Street Fighter and he’d look at us like playing games was beneath him. We’d invite him to come out on the street for cricket and he’d tell us to get lost. Like, how is it our problem if he wasn’t interested in anything we were?’

‘I know, he did make it hard,’ said Pete.

They fell quiet for a moment as Pete rocked the pram and Darren picked up another stick and attempted to get the dog interested in fetching it.

‘Hey,’ said Pete, ‘I assume Mum’s told you the Christmas trip is going ahead?’

‘Yeah, I heard. You think it’s a good idea?’

‘I don’t know, but if that’s what she wants . . . By the way, she’s said we’re all going to drive in convoy, stick together. So we have to all leave at the same time.’

‘No worries.’

‘Okay, I’m gonna take the girls home. Any other news before I go?’