Norah shrugged. ‘Well, it's either this or home.’

Poppy frowned. ‘Is he there?’

‘No, he’s working late, allegedly. Hence the babysitter.’

‘Just checking if...’

‘If I’m avoiding going home?’ Norah asked plainly.

Poppy was caught. She didn’t know how to broach this. Subtlety had never been a strength.

‘Sorry,’ Norah said. ‘I’m being rude.’

‘You’re not at all,’ Poppy assured her. ‘Come on, let’s get a drink.’

It was still early, so it wasn’t too leery in the pub yet. Just a handful of football watchers standing near the TV, glued to a match between a blue team and a red team that Poppy couldn’t have named with a gun to her temple.

‘What are you having?’ Norah asked.

Poppy scanned the menu, trying to find something remotely appetising. ‘Um, how about a gin and tonic?’ she suggested.

‘A classic choice,’ Norah replied. ‘I'll have the same.’

The barman poured the drinks, and they paid and took them to a sticky, wobbly table.

‘So...’ Norah began, taking a sip of her drink. ‘How's life as a single mum? Does it suck, or is it actually not that bad?’

Poppy nearly choked on her drink at the blunt question. ‘It's... busy,’ she managed to say after coughing.

‘I can only imagine,’ Norah said. ‘But I won’t have to now, will I?’

OK, it was becoming clear that Norah needed to talk, and Poppy could do that. ‘What’s the status?’

‘How do you mean?’

‘I mean, is there a timeline? Have you talked to Freddie?’ Poppy asked.

‘Not yet. We’ve agreed that I’m moving out.’

‘Really? Why not him?’ Poppy asked.

‘I can’t afford the place solo, and he reckons he can swing it. My mum is taking me in.’

‘We’ll be on the same street again,’ Poppy observed.

‘So we will,’ Norah said.

There was an awkward pause.

‘We could walk together in the mornings,’ Norah eventually said.

‘Yes, please. Freddie can keep Luna focused,’ Poppy said, happy to move past the weirdness.

But then Norah went quiet again before sighing heavily. ‘He met her on an app. She lives in the next town, so I don’t know her. Which is something.’

Poppy’s jaw tightened, a spike of rage surprising her. ‘I see,’ she said. ‘How long?’

‘About six months. Not long after we started couples’ counselling,’ Norah explained dispassionately.

‘What a fucking dick,’ Poppy growled.

‘I guess that once we started the counselling, he realised just how fucked we were, and he decided to check out fully,’ Norah mused.

‘He didn’t have to go about it like that, did he? If he thought it wasn’t working, he could have just officially ended it.’

‘Maybe he thought I would understand. That I’d be happy to have a stay-together-for-the-kid situation,’ Norah shrugged.

‘Again, he could have been upfront. Asked you if you wanted to do that,’ Poppy insisted.

Norah chuckled, tiredly. ‘The funny thing is, I might have said yes.’

‘Stop it,’ Poppy tutted.

‘No, I’m serious. I didn’t want to be in the marriage anymore. Not for years. I might have told him to have at it. I think he probably sensed that and thought, Why ask?’

‘You’re blaming yourself,’ Poppy said.

‘I’m not, I’m actually... relieved. What he did let me off the hook. I don’t have to make it work anymore.’ Norah said. Suddenly, a tear ran down her cheek. ‘It’s only ever been Freddie stopping me from ending it. He’s gonna be so sad when I tell him.’

Poppy felt deeply for Norah. She wondered if she should hug her. But they didn’t do that. She decided to comfort her with words. ‘He’d have been sadder with an unhappy mum. He might not have known now, but with time, he’d have picked up on it,’ Poppy assured her.

Norah nodded and wiped away the tears. ‘Yeah, maybe.’

‘It’s true. I’ve noticed it,’ Poppy admitted.

Norah looked surprised. ‘Have you?’

‘I haven’t seen you in a long time, so I don’t want to compare you to your teenage self,’ Poppy said nervously. ‘But you didn’t seem... at your best.’

Norah sighed. ‘I wasn’t. You’re right.’

‘But you can be, now,’ Poppy told her.

‘Are you sure? I don’t even know what that looks like anymore,’ Norah said sadly.

‘When things end—things you’ve invested a lot in—it takes time. Give it that. It’ll be better eventually. You’ll come back to yourself,’ Poppy vowed to her.

Norah raised an eyebrow. ‘Did you have a marriage end?’