The electric gates are open, so I drive straight through and on down the driveway, all the while wondering what could have made Darcy so upset. I pull up right outside the house. Darcy’s there, in the doorway, her face red and tear-streaked, her hair uncombed. She’s still wearing the same tracksuit she had on yesterday at the boys’ party.

I undo my seatbelt, grab my bag, and slide out of the car. ‘What’s happened?’

‘I sent all the staff home,’ she says. ‘I couldn’t bear anyone nosing into my business. I didn’t want them to see me like this.’ She blows her nose into a soggy tissue.

I reach into my bag and pass her a fresh one. ‘What happened, Darcy? Is it Tyler? Is he okay? Where’s Mike?’ I put my arm around her and lead her inside, pulling the door closed behind us. I spy a cosy looking sitting room off the entrance hall and guide her in there. It’s some kind of snug, with a squashy u-shaped sofa and a deep-pile rug. We sit side-by-side on the sofa.

‘Ty’s fine,’ she says. ‘No. It’s Mike.’

I wait for her to continue. She stares at me, her blue eyes pooling with more tears.

‘We got in a fight last night.’

‘A fight?’

‘What about?’

‘Oh, it’s been building for a while. We… we haven’t been getting on.’

‘I’m so sorry.’

‘We barely spoke to one another at the party, and then… when we got home. He said…’

I take one of her hands in mine. It’s cold and damp. I give it a squeeze, to try to comfort her. To let her know I’m here for her.

She sniffs and continues. ‘He said he was leaving me.’

My mouth hangs open for a second. ‘Oh no. Darcy, I’m so sorry,’ I say, meaning it. ‘Is there anything I can do?’ I really thought they were a close-knit couple. But, now I come to think about it, they’re friendly with everyone else, yet I’ve hardly ever seen them talking to each another.

She shakes her head. ‘He’s gone. He’s left me,’ she whispers. ‘He stormed out last night. Said he was going to stay at one of his apartments and he didn’t know if he was going to come back. What am I going to do, Louisa? I love my husband.’ She grabs one of the scatter cushions and clutches it to her chest.

‘I really am sorry. I’m sure he’ll come back, though. After a night’s sleep, he’ll realise he’s—’

‘He won’t. You should have seen him. He was so detached. So cold. He doesn’t care about me… He doesn’t love me any more.’ Now, she dissolves into tears. Silently sobbing.

I can’t believe that Mike would want to leave his beautiful, vivacious wife. He always gazed at her with such affection. But I must have misinterpreted things. ‘What can I do?’ I say. ‘If there’s anything I can—’

‘Nothing,’ she says. ‘There’s nothing you can do. I’m just so glad you came. I’m so glad I can count on you as a friend. I feel like I can trust you. I just… I didn’t know who else to call. Everyone else I know would take pleasure in my misfortune. They’d gossip and the news would be all round school by lunchtime. I know you won’t go blabbing to any of the other moms.’

Heat burns my cheeks as she gazes at me. Only thirty minutes ago I was slagging this woman off to my sister. I was so way off the mark. It would seem that Darcy really does like me. And the fact she trusts me more than her other friends – I didn’t realise.

‘Of course I won’t say anything to anyone,’ I reply. ‘And I’m totally here for you. Whatever you need, just say the word.’

She hugs me, her tears smudging against my jacket. ‘It’s funny, but you’re the only person I feel truly comfortable with. You know that, right?’

I do now. I give her a squeeze and pull away from her embrace. ‘Would you like me to pick Tyler up from school this afternoon?’

‘Would you? I don’t think I could face everyone today. I just want to hide away.’

‘Yes, of course. I’ll drop him back straight after. Unless he wants a sleepover at ours?’

‘No, no, that’s okay. I’d rather have him here with me.’

‘Sure,’ I say.

‘Also,’ she says. ‘When you drop him back, would you, maybe want to go for a run with me? Running helps me calm down and relax, but I hate doing it alone. Mike… he always used to come with…’ Darcy breaks down again and I take her hand.

‘I’m sorry,’ I say. ‘I can’t run. It’s my knee… How about I ask Jared if he’ll go with you? He runs most evenings, anyway.’ I regret the offer as soon as it’s out of my mouth. I know Darcy’s going through an awful time, but I don’t like the idea of her and Jared out together, even though I trust him implicitly. We’ve never had a jealous type of relationship. We’ve been together too long, and we still have that spark. Still, the idea of the two of them as running partners…

‘That would be amazing,’ Darcy says. ‘If you’re sure he wouldn’t mind?’

‘No, Jared won’t mind. If he’s not too busy, I’ll get him to text you later.’ Bad though it is, I already know I won’t tell him about it. I would worry too much. I would see things where there was nothing to see. I’ve already shown how bad my judgement is where Darcy’s involved. I won’t put myself in that situation again.

‘You’re an absolute angel,’ she says, dabbing at her tears with the tissue I gave her. ‘I don’t feel quite as awful now. Now I know I have you and Jared on my side.’

As soon as he’s through the front door, I can tell Jared’s in a good mood. The way he holds himself, the fire in his eyes. I tramp down the stairs with a basket of laundry in my arms, trying to blow a stray strand of hair out of my eyes.

‘Here, let me.’ Jared takes the basket out of my arms and kisses me. I follow him through to the kitchen, where he puts the basket down by the washing machine.

‘Where’s Joe?’ he asks.

‘Zonked. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.’

‘I’ll go up and give him a kiss goodnight in a minute.’

‘You look chirpy,’ I say.

He puts his record bag on the table and slides out a sheaf of papers. ‘Tada!’

‘The contract?’ I say.

‘Yup.’

‘Congratulations,’ I say with a smile. I half-wondered if he’d manage to get it, what with Mike and Darcy splitting up.

‘Thanks,’ he says, grinning back.

‘I saw Beth today,’ I say, opening the washing machine door and shoving in the dirty laundry. ‘She said she’d look over the contract for you.’

‘Great, I’ll drop it over to her tomorrow.’

‘Did you see Mike today?’ I ask.

‘No, apparently he was busy. I picked up the contract from his solicitor.’ Jared grabs a pizza crust from Joe’s discarded dinner plate and folds the whole thing into his mouth. ‘God, starving. Shall we get a takeaway tonight? Chinese?’

‘Takeaway sounds good,’ I say. ‘So, you didn’t see Mike at all, today?’

‘No, I just said so. Why?’

I tell Jared about Mike and Darcy. About how upset Darcy was earlier.

Jared’s face falls. ‘God, that’s awful. I wonder why he left her. They seemed happy, don’t you think?’

‘I guess you never know what’s really going on,’ I reply. ‘She was so upset. I really felt bad for her.’

Jared’s phone shrills, making me jump. I close the washing machine door, press the start button and straighten up.

‘Who’s that?’ I ask as Jared answers his mobile.

‘Darcy,’ Jared mouths.

I hear her voice, tinny and far away, but I can’t make out the words. I know why she’s ringing.

‘Hang on,’ Jared says to her. He covers the phone with his hand and turns to me. ‘Darcy said you mentioned I could go running with her tonight?’

Shit. I can’t back out of my offer now. ‘Um, yeah, she asked me to go with her, but… my knee. So I said you might go. Sorry, I know how busy you are so don’t worry if—’

‘No, that’s cool. I don’t mind.’

My heart sinks.

He puts the phone to his ear again. ‘No problem,’ he says. ‘Half an hour? Yeah, I guess I can…’ He laughs. ‘Okay, see you in a bit, Darce.’ He ends the call.

‘What about the takeaway?’ I ask, ‘Shall I order it for when you get home?’

‘Nah, I’ll grab a quick snack now and have cheese on toast or something when I get back.’

Disappointment tugs at me. I was looking forward to spending the evening with my husband, eating delicious food and maybe watching a movie. I know I shouldn’t be so selfish. Darcy’s going through hell. The least Jared and I can do is be there for her while she’s so upset.

‘I still can’t believe Mike left her,’ Jared says, opening the fridge and pulling out a tub of hummus. ‘I hope this won’t affect the contract.’

‘Shouldn’t think so,’ I reply, sitting down at the table. ‘Business is business, I guess.’

Jared dollops a lump of hummus onto a cracker and plants a kiss on my forehead. ‘Right, going to get changed and then I’ll be off. See you later, Lou. Love you.’

‘Love you, too.’

I hear the squeak of the dial turning, the hiss of the water coming on, the clatter and bang of the rickety shower door. Jared didn’t get home until after eleven. He texted me earlier to say that Darcy begged him to stay for a drink after their run. That she was really upset. What could I say to him? It would have been mean of me to say no. Now he’s back home having a shower. I’m in bed attempting to read, but I can’t concentrate on the words. I’ve read the same paragraph about a dozen times already, and I still don’t know what it says. I give up, and set my Kindle down on the night stand.

I’ve never experienced this type of jealousy before. I don’t like the way it makes my heart race, my head hot, and my guts churn. The way my fingers shake as I pull the quilt up to my chin. I draw in a deep breath and let it out again, slowly, trying to calm myself and stop the rush of unwelcome thoughts crowding my brain. I trust my husband so there’s nothing to worry about. Darcy needs friends right now, and that’s what we are – friends.

‘Hey.’ Jared comes into the bedroom, naked, drying his hair with a hand towel.

‘Hi,’ I say, my voice tight.

‘You okay? Sorry I’m so late. It was hard to get away. She’s really upset.’

‘I know,’ I say. ‘Poor woman.’ I sit up. ‘Did she tell you why Mike left?’

‘No. She just said they hadn’t been getting on.’

‘How did you leave things? Was she still upset when you left?’

‘Pretty upset, yeah. I don’t think she wanted me to go but it was getting late so I told her to get some sleep. I offered for you to go over tomorrow, but she said she had too much to do. She did ask if I could go running with her again tomorrow evening…’

‘Really? Again. Do you think she wants to make a regular thing of it?’ I have visions of Jared spending all his evenings over there while I wait here, alone. No matter how upset Darcy is over Mike, I’m not sure I could cope with that.

‘I said I wasn’t sure about my work schedule,’ Jared says. ‘Thought I better talk it over with you first.’ Jared slides into bed next to me and kisses me on the lips, his breath minty clean.

‘I don’t mind you running together,’ I lie. ‘But… I’d rather you didn’t spend the whole evening over there. It’s lonely here without you.’

Jared scooches up close to me. ‘I missed you, too,’ he says, kissing my earlobe and my neck.

‘Your hair’s still damp,’ I say, getting a waft of citrus shower gel. ‘You’re making the pillow all wet.’

Jared slides a hand down over my bare skin. I mould my body to his, briefly forgetting all about damp pillows and needy friends.