The next time Matt went into work the deal was done. "I talked to my wife," his boss declared, "and we agreed that a computer was too much for the kid. We bought him a colouring-in book instead."

"I'm sure he'll be happy with that" Matt said, sure that 'the kid' wouldn't be at all. When he left work that afternoon he had the laptop under his arm.

He headed straight to Rona's house. He hadn't seen her since the previous week and he hoped for all he was worth that she hadn't somehow procured a computer in that time. When he knocked on the door Miranda opened it and told him, without being asked:

"She's in the sitting-room, playing with her new camera."

"A digital?" Matt asked, realising suddenly and with added alarm that if she'd got a non-digital camera the computer might be useless.

"Of course!" Miranda giggled, as if it was a ridiculous question. "What's that under your arm?"

Matt just gave her a secretive grin and walked past her down the corridor.

He was blinded by a flash as soon as he stepped into the sitting-room, and before he'd recovered he heard Rona say:

"Aww, honey, it came out all squinty."

"Well of course it did! Jesus, Rona!" He blinked the sight back into his eyes and stepped tentatively towards the sofa where he could just make her out. "Christ, the flash on that thing is lethal."

"I need to get a memory card" Rona said. "I've only taken fifteen photos and already the internal memory's full. How much do they cost, anyway?"

"Not much" Will said, entering from the kitchen carrying a mug of what smelled to Matt like two-minute noodles. "Depends how big a one you want to get."

"Do you have a computer to put the card in?" Matt asked innocently.

"No" Rona frowned, her eyes fixed on the camera's display as she clicked through the various menu options.

Without a word, Matt slipped the laptop into her arms, between her eyes and the camera. "You do know" he said.

"Whoa-hey!" Will laughed as he watched the scene unfold. "Someone's gonna get lucky tonight!"