‘I really do appreciate it. I’ve had the same plot since 1962 and I don’t want to give it up if I don’t have to.’ He looks at his watch. ‘I’d better be getting back. Hazel will be wanting her Horlicks. It’s the least I can do for her after all these years.’

Chapter 56

February 2011

The red front door of number 27 is propped open with a curling stone. Georgia knocks, but doesn’t wait for an answer before stepping inside.

‘Hazel?’ she shouts. ‘It’s just me.’

A tall, slim woman appears from the kitchen. ‘Georgia. I’m so glad you could come. As you can see, we are in a state of disarray.’ A dozen boxes are stacked up against the staircase wall, and four suitcases are set beside them. ‘Two more days left here, and then we’ll be off.’ Hazel holds up her hand to stop Georgia responding. ‘I’ll be sorry to leave and I’m going to miss you, but I want to be in the old place while I can still enjoy it. I need to be able to get out onto the beach and paddle in the waves.’

Georgia laughs. ‘In February?’

‘Yes, of course in February. When we were young it was the rule that you put your fingers or toes in the water every single day, no matter what the weather was like.’

‘You’re made of hardier stuff than me.’

‘So it would seem! Now come along through to the back and I’ll get us a coffee. There’s something I want to give you.’

The house is a mirror image of number 25, the other half of the semi-detached pair. It will be very odd indeed for it to be unoccupied, thinks Georgia.

Unlike Georgia’s own house, Hazel’s home has been gutted and little remains of the original kitchen. The standard issue 1900s fitted kitchen dresser is gone, and has been replaced by an enormous fridge freezer and a wall of sleek high-gloss units. Georgia cannot imagine how Hazel and Stan can possibly need all this storage space. It’s not as though they need to stock food for ten people. The previous owner was a builder who had stripped everything out and built a sunny extension with inset ceiling lights and triple sliding doors out to the back garden. Lovely, thought Georgia, if you like that sort of home-interiors-magazine look, but the noise and the dust had gone on for almost a year.