SOPHIE STANDS IN front of the painting, flexing her toes. She pushes one heel off the ground and then the other, as though she were a sprinter about to crouch into blocks. Museum walking is harder than other kinds of walking – why is that? Her feet are still a little swollen from the plane. Sydney, LAX, JFK, and the interminable bus into Manhattan that Paul booked.

Today is the middle day of their holiday. There will be two more full ones after this, then a truncated morning they won’t know what to do with. Yes, it was a long way to come for such a short stay. Sophie was on the fence – she has to shoot again next week – but Paul was insistent. Now she knows why.