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Maybe she didn't hear me. I could just run away, but where am I going to run to, exactly? Perhaps I didn't actually say it out loud. I was sure that I did! There's no harm in saying it again, just in case.

'Your hus–'

She interrupts me. 'I heard you the first time.'

We're all just standing there in Declan's dining room. Willem has shrunk back against the wall. I can just imagine him with a lampshade over his head, pretending he's not there. Declan is standing next to me, holding his breath.

I don't know what to say next because I'd been expecting a bigger response. I'd pictured her crying and running out of the room to pack her stuff. Or his stuff. Somebody's stuff needs to be packed. There's enough room in this house for all of us, but it would be awkward.

Declan's mum keeps stripping leaves.

Eventually she looks up, smoothing a stray hair back from her cheek. 'It's over now.' She offers Declan a watery smile. 'Nothing for you to worry about.' She holds the bouquet of daisies up and carefully adds one flower to each side. She twists it this way and that, making sure that it's even.

'Your husband is . . .'

'All husbands do that, Jenna-Belle.'

And now I understand what it is about my mum and Declan's mum. The affair is the pineapple on both of their heads. Declan's mum doesn't check the phone records every month because she thinks Telstra is ripping her off; she rings her husband's girlfriends. She's always known. She lives with it because she doesn't have a job, or any skills, and she doesn't want to be a single mum living in a caravan park.

Declan's mum has decided it's better to have one person be indifferent and disrespectful to her than everyone.

24

BARBS

Bryce Cole has just climbed out of a taxi at the front of Declan's house. He shields his eyes and looks through the window of his car, but I have the keys in my pocket.

When he sees Will and me walking down the path his lips draw into a thin line. I pull my hand out of my pocket and he snatches the keys from me. 'Get in the car!' he growls. 'In the back!' he qualifies, as Will heads towards the passenger side.

Mum's at the end of the road, waiting on the corner. She didn't want Declan's mum to see her. She's embarrassed.

'What happened with Romance Me?' Will asks.

'It won,' Bryce says.

I look at Mum.

She whispers, 'The jockey was underweight.'

'So you lost? You lost it all?'

'The horse won the race,' Bryce Cole says.

'But it didn't,' I protest. 'It was disqualified.'

'It won by three lengths! What do you know? You weren't even there!' Bryce Cole rubs his lips. 'It won by three lengths.'

We drive west in silence.

After about twenty minutes Mum lights a cigarette and ashes out the window. The ash whips back into my face. This morning I thought the least your mother could do is feed you, now I think the very least your mother can do for you is not to flick hot ashes into your face.

Declan's mobile rings in my pocket.

'Your dad was here! You just missed him!' Declan says to me. He's out of breath. 'He went to the house, and then he almost got back in his car, but I ran out there. I tried to make him stay, but he was looking for you. He's only just gone.'

'What did he say?'

'He had this whole story about how he applied for some job. I told him to meet you at the Plough and Peanut.'

'Yes, I know. In New Zealand. And we're not at the stupid Plough and Peanut!' I yell at him.

'He didn't say anything about New Zealand to me. He just said he applied for it ages ago. Where are you?'

I look at the back of Mum's head. Do I tell her? What do I do? Even if we go back to the pub, Dad will have gone by the time we get there. He might leave a message for us. But what if he doesn't? Should we drive all the way there and all the way back again just to find out something we already know?

'Why do you even care? Just shut up. Anyway, I've only got two bars of battery left.' I snap the phone shut and turn it off. I'm mad at Declan because my plan didn't work, and because