He frowned. ‘Did you just threaten to break my neck?’

‘It was a joke. Sort of,’ Norah said.

‘I had an emergency!’ he whined. ‘The weekend manager called to tell me that three people called in sick. I had to serve, for god’s sake. And that woman said you knew her. I thought it would be fine.’

‘You don’t even know her name,’ Norah said, shaking her head.

‘I do. It’s... Daisy?’

‘Poppy.’

‘I knew it was a flower name,’ he said dismissively, stepping out of the shower and grabbing a towel.

‘You don’t even know what you did wrong, do you?’ Norah said.

‘My job’s important, Norah.’

‘More than your child?’ Norah asked.

‘Sometimes, yes!’ he snapped.

Norah stared at him. ‘I’m going downstairs now. So you can be alone with what you just said.’ She walked out of the bathroom.

‘Norah!’ he called after her.

Norah went downstairs just in time to see through the glass front door that Poppy was coming up the path. She opened the door to meet her. ‘Hi,’ she said.

Poppy’s mouth began to form the start of a greeting, and then her brow creased. Confusion took her face, and then horror. She was looking behind Norah. Norah knew what she’d seen before she even turned around and saw her stupid, nude husband jogging down the stairs to finish their row.

‘Christ!’ Max cried as he locked eyes with Poppy, cupping his junk, turned tail (so to speak) and ran upstairs, his buttocks jumping.

Norah turned back to Poppy. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she said, clutching her heart in true shame.

But Poppy’s horror had passed, and now she was laughing. ‘I thought I’d seen the last sausage roll of the day, but I guess not.’

Norah wanted to die. ‘The kids are in the backyard; Luna didn’t see it... that... anything.’

‘OK. You alright?’ Poppy asked.

‘No, yes, sorry. Come in.’

Poppy came in, and Norah led her through to the back, where she yelled, ‘Hey, kiddo!’

Luna turned, ‘Hi, Mum! Just playing!’ Then she went back to digging a trench around a sandcastle.

‘She usually runs straight for me. She must love playing with Freddie,’ Poppy noted.

‘He’s a pretty good hang,’ Norah said, still trying to get over her embarrassment.

‘Hey, are you at this party tomorrow?’ Poppy asked.

‘What, Drew? Yeah.’

‘Where the hell is it, by the way?’ Poppy asked. ‘I keep meaning to Google map it.’

‘A farm about twenty-five minutes away. I’ve been there a few times. It’s a good place for the kids. They have animals, of course, but it’s all about the play park. It's epic.’

‘Twenty-five minutes away?’ Poppy repeated.

Norah couldn’t miss the concern in her tone. ‘Are you worried about finding it?’ Norah asked.

‘I had to sell my car,’ Poppy admitted, trying to hide her embarrassment, but Norah could see it.

She decided the best thing to do was to approach the problem practically. ‘Did you keep the kid’s car seat?’

Poppy raised an eyebrow. ‘Yes...’

‘Come with us.’

‘No, you’ve done me enough favours. I’ll figure something out...’

Norah shook her head. ‘I’ll drop by your place at about ten thirty. We’ll get the seat set up in my car.’

Poppy gaped at her. ‘You’re saving my actual life at the moment.’

‘We’re saving each other’s,’ Norah assured her.

She really meant it. There was a lot wrong with Norah’s life, but Poppy’s appearance wasn’t on that list anymore. She was glad of the shift. All it took was her selfish bastard of a husband to be his usual self, and somehow, things were different. Their past felt less like a huge balloon full of old pain that Norah was holding on to. It was deflating, shrivelling, drooping.

She just hoped she didn’t do something stupid, like attempting to address what had happened at the end. Everything would be better if she could just let that part go. They were kids, right? Eighteen. You couldn’t hold someone responsible for something that happened when they were barely out of braces.

‘Wait, is there room in the car? Three adults and two kids?’ Poppy exclaimed.

‘Max never comes to the parties. It’s his relaxation time,’ Norah admitted.

Poppy didn’t react to that. ‘Well, his loss is my gain. Thanks, Norah.’ She turned. ‘Luna! Let’s roll!’

‘In a minute!’

‘We’re having pizza for dinner, but only if you come right now.’

Luna stood and started brushing sand off herself.

‘We’re having pizza no matter what she does,’ Poppy said quietly, out of the corner of her mouth. ‘Because I want it.’

‘Let them never find out we love junk food as much as them,’ Norah replied.

And with that, Norah knew she and Poppy were mum friends.