That summer I met my first love. I fell head over heels in love with Philippa. She fell in love with me. As they say, We had fun, we had joy we had seasons in the sun. That really was a lovely summer. We spent every moment we could together. Our hearts thumped. We had picknicks together, we went riding together, we went to concerts together, we popped over to Paris and the Riviera together. And then we were just together. I think just being together with someone I loved was what mattered most to me.

My relationship with my parents was not strained at all. We were perfectly civil to each other whenever we met. That summer my father had custody of me. My friends, or rather acquaintances, called me Pinball since my parents regarded me as the trophy in their fight against each other. Whenever the parent in charge was splashed on the front pages of the tabloids due to some scandal, which happened with depressing regularity, the other swooped in to grab the prize, Why? apart from the win, I never could figure out.