‘Don’t you like Carmel?’ ‘I didn’t say that.’ ‘You didn’t need to.’ ‘I just feel – what I mean to say . . .’ He looks at me lucidly, smiling. ‘Do you want to hear this?’ ‘I don’t know. Do I?’ ‘I just think she takes a lot from you but doesn’t give anything back.’ ‘Oh, Marco. Come on.’ ‘I told you you wouldn’t like it.’ ‘I’ve known her nearly twenty years. She’s my best friend in the world.’ ‘I know, I know. I’m sure I’ve put my foot in it. Forget it, forget I said anything.
