Electronic beeps and music come from a games console. Tobi and Eden Meyer lie on the sofa, Tobi enthusiastically explaining the new game they’ve been playing. Something about a jumping man and a monkey? It’s sort of unclear, but they sure are excited about it, and Eden is listening to them ramble indulgently. It makes a nice break from studying – all those corporations and fiscal terms are getting muddled in Eden’s head at this point.

At a particularly loud laugh, Mama looks up from their paperwork, smiling. The open plan nature of the flat means that they have a clear view of their children from the dining table where they are working. They’re loathe to interrupt the relaxed atmosphere, but they’ve put it off for long enough.

“Hey Eden, can I have a word?” Mama calls.

Eden responds the affirmative, ruffling Tobi’s hair as they leave. They glance over the papers spread in front of Mama. Some of the papers are familiar – work documents, some business things they brought out to show Eden, a copy of The Bolt. Some of them, however, are new, in particular the legal documents directly in front of Mama. Although Eden hadn’t seen these particular papers, they know what they are.

“Divorce is so much more paperwork than I thought it would be, somehow.” Mama laughs ruefully, “I’m nearly done with all of this stuff, but I still have to put in what allowances we’d like for visitation. Theresa has a right to see Tobi, but if you wanted, I could make it a condition that she never contacts you again?”

Eden considers this. They had barely spoken to Mother since they had come out, and the relationship had been tense before that. But did they never want to speak to her again? After a few moments of thought, they came to a decision. Or rather, they didn’t.

“I’m going to think about that. But not tonight. Tonight, we are going to have a nice evening.” They explain firmly, “It’s too late to make stressful decisions. And, Mama, it’s too late to work. Put all these papers away, and let’s pick a film to watch, the three of us.”

Tobi’s joyous laughter echoes around the room as Mama smiles and nods in agreement.