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Johnny nodded. ‘Me too. But our little girl is still in there, underneath the teenage angst and anger.’

‘It’s hard to see it sometimes.’

‘We have to be patient with her. It’s just a phase.’

‘You’ve always been better at patience than me.’

‘True.’

‘You didn’t have to agree quite so readily,’ Mia said.

‘Much as I love you and much as I admire all of your good qualities, patience has never been among them.’

Mia grinned. ‘I’m trying to work on it. In fact, I’m going up to Riley now to tell her I love her and give her a hug.’

Johnny’s eyes widened. ‘Are you sure? She’s in a grump.’

‘Yes.’

‘Good luck.’

Mia climbed up the stairs and opened Riley’s door. The usual mess greeted her and music blared from the speaker in the corner. Riley was lying face down on the bed, bawling into her pillow. Above her hung the poster of Caitlin Moran with a bubble coming out of her mouth: ‘Do you have a vagina? And do you want to be in charge of it? If you said “Yes” to both, then congratulations – you’re a feminist!’ Riley had bought it with her birthday money from Charlie last year and proudly hung it up. Mia would have preferred a more eloquent quote about feminism, but she was pleased that Riley was embracing the empowerment of women.

Her heart went out to her sobbing daughter, her baby girl. She went over and put her arms around her. Riley jerked up, hitting her mother accidentally in the face with her elbow.

‘Ouch!’ Mia cried.

‘What the hell, Mum? Don’t sneak up on me like that! You gave me a fright.’ Riley quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

Mia rubbed her cheek. ‘Oh, sweetheart, I know you’re upset about your ex-boyfriend. Break-ups are so difficult.’

‘I don’t give a crap about him,’ Riley snapped.

Mia tried putting her arms around her daughter again. Riley wriggled to get free.

Mia held on firmly. ‘I love you, Riley, and I know you’re upset. I want you to know I’m here for you. I’ve loved you since the first moment I set eyes upon you, almost sixteen years ago.’

Riley pulled out of her mother’s embrace. ‘Oh, my God, stop.’

‘You are a beautiful, brilliant girl. Don’t ever forget that.’

‘If I’m so great, how come he doesn’t want to know me?’ Riley sobbed, then pushed past Mia and locked herself into the bathroom.

Mia sat on the floor outside the door, listening to her daughter’s sobs. Her heart ached for her.

9

Sarah clutched the basin and bent over. She tried to breathe deeply in and out. God, this headache was worse than any of the others. She tried to relax her body, but the pain was making her feel nauseous. She retched but didn’t vomit. She could feel perspiration running down her back and beading on her forehead.

‘Mummy?’

Sarah held a cold facecloth to her forehead and turned to her daughter. ‘Yes, sweetie?’

Izzy was standing in her navy school skirt and white blouse. ‘I can’t find my school jumper.’

Sarah rinsed the facecloth under the cold water tap and rubbed it on the back of her neck. ‘I’ll help you. Just give me a second.’

‘Is your head sore again, Mummy?’ Izzy pointed to the facecloth.