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I notice the absence immediately as I reach for clean clothes after my shower. All of Claire’s things are gone from the cupboard. I wind my way downstairs to where Raff and Orly are starting dinner. Raff’s chopping with his bandaged wrist, which is a good sign.

“How is it?” I ask him.

He holds it up. “Swelling’s almost gone. Definitely not broken.”

I nod, relieved. “Good man. You guys know what’s happened to…” I falter, unsure how to put it. “The stuff in my cupboard?”

“What stuff?” Orly asks.

“Mum’s stuff,” Raff says.

“What stuff?” Orly says more loudly. “I didn’t know we had Mum’s stuff.”

It hits me. How wrong this is. Hiding away her belongings like a greedy dragon hoarding treasure, instead of sharing them with her children. What the fuck is wrong with me.

“Fen’s been taking it,” Raff says. “For a while. You didn’t notice?”

There are a lot of things I haven’t noticed about my daughter; that is becoming crystal clear.

I need to see her. Make sure she’s okay. I will tell her I’m sorry for not checking in sooner, and for not having shared her mother’s things with her. All that stuff, the jewelry and the clothes, that should be Fen’s now, it should belong to her, she shouldn’t have to steal it. I feel a bit queasy.

“What’s going on?” Rowan asks, appearing in the doorway.

Nobody says anything; it feels awkward.

I meet her eyes and say, “I think we should take our dinner down to the beach this evening and eat with Fen.”

The boys make sounds of excitement and a smile splits Rowan’s face. “That’s the best idea you’ve ever had.”