“Hey,” she cried, a bit too loud for her liking.

“Hey, baby, I made it! I’m home early, can you believe it?”

Sam strolled over to where Cat was sitting and bent down to kiss her. She caressed Cat’s hair with the back of her fingers and then knelt beside her.

“I see you’ve already started celebrating,” Sam said, licking her lips, obviously tasting the wine.

Cat gave a short laugh and smiled widely. “I was just working a little – opened a bottle to cheer me up. But I’m glad you managed to leave early. How did it go?”

“Unfortunately, today’s an exception. We’re cornering this guy, I’m sure of that, and I can’t let my guard down.”

“I’m sure you’ll catch the bad guy.” She stroked the woman’s hair behind her ear.

“Yeah… So, what do you want to do tonight?”

“Actually, Ed just called me. We’re meeting everyone at seven. I mean, if you feel like it.”

“Sure, why not? Let me jump into the shower first, though, I think I smell of police station.”

“Oh, that’s it, I thought I caught the stench of doughnut when you walked in.”

Sam laughed good-naturedly and poked her in the ribs before disappearing into the bathroom. Cat’s smile congealed in her lips and then faded slowly. She should stop drinking, but had another glass anyway. I can write my own book: ‘The Road to Alcoholism’, by Cat MacKenzie, she mused. Self-pity again, how useful. She couldn’t push away the sensation of having fucked everything up, for herself, for Sam, for Frankie. But especially for Sam. There was the terrible fear of destroying Sam, of turning something good and pure into something damaged, and she couldn’t get rid of that sensation.

They got to Rubies at seven sharp, and everyone else seemed to be there already; Jay, Ed, Tess, Fin, and… no Frankie. Cat swallowed the need to glance around and slumped down beside Jay, smiling at her friends’ cheerful greetings. When Sam went to the bar to get them something to drink, Cat started to think that she shouldn’t have drunk to protect herself, especially when Frankie was absent.

“So, how’s the settled life treating you?” Jay asked her, with the tiniest playful smile on his lips.