RB was worried that she had left her children in the hands of an unreliable babysitter for the evening. Due to her work commitments, there was absolutely nothing that she could do about this now.

I offered to help out. If EH could give me a lift in her car on her way home, I would walk the around the corner to RB’s house and check that all was well with the children.

EH, however, could not take me. This was because there was no space for me in her car: it was already fully laden with stockpiled butter.