“Nooooooooooo!”

They have just told the children that they will be separating. He is still trying to ‘do a bad thing well’, and on this occasion they are both in agreement. They have picked a weekend when nothing else will intrude They will be able to all spend the weekend together after breaking the news.

The eldest son tries to look brave and in control, while the youngest son quietly weeps. The youngest daughter, almost uncomprehending, weeps with him.

It is left to the eldest daughter to give full vent to her feelings in one long, drawn out cry of horror and pain.

It is a sound that will always haunt him, maybe for the rest of his life, and draw him back to the raw, painful emotion of that event.