The Mother was equally still, standing a little way behind, a black bookshelf at each shoulder, her face unsmiling as she watched. The embrace continued, and when I glanced again at the Mother, that whole section of the room had become partitioned, her narrowed eyes repeated in box after box, and in some boxes the eyes were watching Josie and the Father, while in others they were looking at me.

At last they loosened their embrace, and the Father smiled and raised the paper bag higher, as though it were in need of oxygen.

‘Here, animal,’ he said to Josie. ‘Brought you my latest little creation.’

He passed the bag to Josie, holding its bottom till she was doing the same, and they sat down side by side on the sofa to peer inside it. Rather than remove the item from the bag, Josie tore the paper away at the sides to reveal a small, rough-looking circular mirror mounted on a tiny stand. She held it on her knee and said: ‘So what’s this, Dad? For doing make-up?’

‘If you want. But you’re not looking at it. Take another look.’

‘Wow! That’s sensational. What’s going on?’

‘Isn’t it strange how we all tolerate it? All these mirrors that show you the wrong way round? This one shows you the way you really look. No heavier than the average compact.’

‘That’s brilliant! Did you invent this?’

‘I’d like to claim it, but the real credit goes to my friend Benjamin, one of the other guys in the community. He came up with the idea, but he didn’t know quite how to pull it off in real-world terms. So I did that part. Fresh out the oven, only last week. What do you think, Josie?’

‘Wow, it’s a masterpiece. I’m going to be checking my face in public the whole time now. Thanks! You’re such a genius. Does this thing run on batteries?’

For the next few moments the Father and Josie went on talking about the mirror, breaking off to exchange jokey greetings as if they were only meeting for the first time at that moment. Their shoulders were touching, and as they talked they often pressed further into one another. I remained standing in the middle of the room, the Father sometimes glancing towards me, and I thought at any moment Josie would introduce us. But the Father’s arrival had made her excited, she continued to talk rapidly to him, and soon the Father ceased glancing my way.

‘My new physics tutor, Dad, I bet he doesn’t know even half what you do. And he’s weird. If he wasn’t mega-accredited, I’d be like, Mom, we have to get this guy arrested. No, no, don’t panic, he isn’t improper. It’s just so obvious he’s fixing something in his shed, you know, to blow us all up. Hey, how’s the knee?’

‘Oh, much better, thanks. In fact it’s just fine.’

‘You remember that cookie you had the last time we went out? The one that looked like the president of China?’

Even though Josie’s speech was fast and seamless, I could tell she was testing her words in her mind before speaking them. Then the Mother – who’d gone out into the hall – came back wearing her coat, and she was also holding up in the air Josie’s thicker jacket. Cutting straight into the talk between Josie and the Father, she said:

‘Paul, come on. You haven’t said hello to Klara. This here’s Klara.’

The Father and Josie fell silent, both looking at me. Then the Father said: ‘Klara. Hello.’ The smile he’d had since entering the apartment had vanished.

‘Hate to rush you guys,’ the Mother said. ‘But you got here late, Paul. We have an appointment to keep.’

The Father’s smile returned, but there was now anger in his eyes. ‘I haven’t seen my daughter in nearly three months and I don’t get to talk with her for five minutes?’

‘Paul, it’s you who insisted on coming with us today.’

‘I think I have a right to come, Chrissie.’

‘No one’s denying that. But you don’t make us late.’

‘Is this guy so busy…’

‘Don’t make us late, Paul. And you behave while we’re there.’

The Father looked at Josie and shrugged. ‘See, in trouble already,’ he said and laughed. ‘Come on then, animal, we’d better get going.’

‘Paul,’ the Mother said, ‘you haven’t spoken to Klara.’

‘I just said hello.’

‘Come on. Speak to her some more.’

‘Part of the family. Is that what you’re saying?’

The Mother stared at him, then seemed to change her mind about something and shook Josie’s jacket in the air.

‘Come on, honey. We need to go.’

* * *

—

While we were waiting outside for the Mother’s car, the Father – wearing his raincoat again – stood with his arm around Josie. They were at the front edge of the sidewalk while I stood further back, almost at the townhouse’s railings, the pedestrians passing between us. Because of our positions and the unusual outdoor acoustics, I had difficulty hearing their words. At one point the Father turned towards me, but continued speaking to Josie even as his eyes examined me. Then a black-skinned lady with large earrings passed between us, and when she’d gone, the Father’s back was turned once more.

When the Mother’s car arrived, Josie and I got into the back, and as we set off, I tried to catch her eye, to give reassurance in case she was anxious about posing for her portrait. But she was looking out of the window on her own side and didn’t turn my way.

The Mother’s car made slow progress, leaving one traffic line only to get held up in another. We passed shuttered doorways and buildings with crossed-out windows. It began to rain again, the umbrella couples appeared and the dog lead people moved in a hurry. Once there appeared on my side – close enough that I might have touched it had I lowered my window – a soaked wall covered in angry cartoon writing.

‘It’s not so bad,’ the Mother was saying to the Father. ‘There aren’t enough of us. Budget per campaign’s down almost forty percent. We’re in chronic conflict with the PR people. But otherwise, yes. It’s fine.’

‘Steven still making his presence felt?’

‘Certainly is. Same congenial figure he always was.’

‘You know, Chrissie. I really do wonder if it’s worth it. You hanging on this way.’

‘I’m not sure I understand. What is it I’m hanging onto?’

‘Goodwins. Your law department. This whole…world of work. Your every waking moment determined by some contract you once signed.’