I opened my mouth to say something but Chris shook his head slightly at me, indicating that he was going to take the question. ‘We didn’t all go together last year, or the year before that. Josh went with Tom, if you remember.’ ‘Yes, but that’s different,’ said Matilda. ‘That was because you said he was old enough to go with his friends. He isn’t going with his friends this time, he’s going with his mum, and that’s family so we should all go together.’ I had to admit that for an eight-year-old, her logic was pretty impressive. Unfortunately, on this particular point, it was not appreciated. Josh came into the kitchen before either of us had had a chance to formulate an answer. He looked at Matilda’s expectant face and both of us. ‘What’s up?’ he asked. ‘Nothing,’ Chris said. ‘Yes, it is,’ said Matilda. ‘I want to know why we can’t all go to the fireworks as a family. I don’t see why you have to go with your mum and me with my mum and we can’t all go together like we should.’ Matilda’s evident fury took me back a little.
