‘A card, you mean.’

‘A letter.’

‘Stan never writes letters.’

‘It wasn’t good news, I’m afraid. He wrote to tell you that his sister has passed away. He wanted you to know that there isn’t going to be a funeral, and that this is what she wanted, and that he is going to see his daughter in, I forget where . . .’

‘Montevideo.’

‘That’s it, Montevideo.’

There is a pause. ‘That’s an awful lot to get on a postcard.’

‘I told you, it wasn’t a postcard. It was a letter and I opened it by mistake; I’m terribly sorry.’

‘We will talk about this when I come home. I am very disappointed. If that’s what he wanted to tell me then why was it necessary for you to track me down? I cannot think of a single reason why you would need to do that.’

Tess is fed up with being berated. ‘There is a very good reason, actually.’

‘Oh? Enlighten me.’

‘It was in the letter.’

‘Read it to me, then.’

Tess sighs. ‘I can’t, I spilled water all over it and the ink ran. I’m sorry, but it was important that I get in touch. Very, very important.’

‘Go on.’

‘I feel very weird about this.’

‘Not any more weird than I’m feeling right now, I can assure you.’

‘I have what’s left of it.’

‘Read it then, my dinner is waiting for me.’

Tess begins.

‘“I wanted to write and not phone you because what I have to say bears the effort of pen and ink.”’

‘He never phones me.’

‘“My sister is gone now. She slipped from this life to whatever does or does not come next, last night. She did not want a funeral of any description, there is . . .” And then he talked about a cremation and said she wanted him to let her ashes wash out to sea, and then . . . well, then it says, “not free until now, to say these things, and I will not give voice to them with breath unless your answer is positive, so”, and then some stuff about Montevideo, and then it says, “I would like to spend my last years with you, Georgia. But if you are not interested then all you need to do is stay silent. I will not mention it again, ever. I would never want to embarrass you.”’

‘Oh,’ says Georgia.

‘And the part that’s missing says that if he doesn’t hear from you, he will go to Montevideo in a week’s time and that basically you will be just friends and he will understand.’

‘MEN!!!’

The volume is so great, Tess holds the phone away from her ear. ‘I’m really sorry.’

‘It’s not you. It’s him.’