‘Don’t be sorry! We might not be super close but that doesn’t mean I can’t be here for you.’ Kelly paused, then said gently, ‘And you thought he’d reassure you, right? He’d tell you that you wouldn’t turn out like your mother?’

Andrea nodded. ‘I know. It’s stupid. It’s just that, he knows about my childhood, about my mum. So, I suppose I thought he might figure it out for himself.’

‘I get it,’ said Kelly. ‘I know what it’s like when you’re wishing that your partner would say the thing you want them to say. But the problem is, they’re not mind-readers. So, if you don’t open up, they won’t know to ask. Trust the woman who’s already been through one bad divorce, okay?’

‘That’s a fair point. You know, I’m just not sure at what point we made that final definitive choice. I’m not sure when we completely closed the door, all I know is that it’s closed.’

‘But is it? I mean, if you don’t want it to be, shouldn’t you at least talk to him about it?’

‘I don’t really know what I want. But when idiot Greg asked me just now, there was a part of me that wanted to be able to say yes. To be able to make this happy announcement. But that’s so ridiculous. I mean, where did that thought even come from?’

‘Probably from your fucking ovaries,’ said Kelly. ‘Women’s bodies are excellent at taking control at the most annoying times.’

‘Stupid biological clock. I’ve probably left it too late either way. I’m almost forty.’

Kelly shook her head. ‘There’s still time,’ she said. ‘If it’s something that you want, there’s definitely still time. Now, you know what I think?’

‘What?’

‘To start, I think we need more drinks and that they should be bloody Greg’s shout. And then I think maybe you need to have a conversation with Tony.’

‘I know,’ said Andrea. ‘You’re right.’

CHRISTMAS EVE

Darren thrust his phone at the stranger. ‘You make the call,’ he said. ‘I have to get to my mum.’

He sprinted over to the crumpled Volvo and leaned into the driver’s side. ‘Mum, Mum? Are you awake? Are you okay? Can you hear me?’

Her chin was resting on her chest. He couldn’t tell if she was breathing. He heard the other man talking on his phone from behind him.

‘Four cars,’ he was saying. ‘Looks really bad. Oh right . . . M1 freeway. Umm, I think we’re just a few kilometres before the Gosford exit.’

Darren turned around to look at him. ‘The Peats Ridge Road exit,’ he corrected.