She turned.

Hannah was in such a mess about this, she hadn’t stopped to think about Indy. Her parents already dead, now another death up close. Maybe it was because Indy now worked at Skelf’s, Hannah always subconsciously assumed she could handle anything. But the death and grief of strangers is so different to your own, that’s what Dorothy always told her.

Hannah remembered the first time she laid eyes on Indy, a month after her parents’ funeral. She’d been answering the phones at Skelf’s when Hannah popped by to see Gran and Grandpa. It wasn’t exactly a thunderbolt of attraction, but she was so easy to talk to, God, that big smile, those dark eyes. She radiated something, a kind of self-respect and self-worth, which was easy to fall in love with. Which is precisely what Hannah did.

That smile and confidence made it all the harder to see her like this.178

Hannah went over and took the kettle from Indy’s hand, placed it on the draining board and switched the tap off. She wrapped her arms around her and held on tight.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said.

She felt Indy swallow. ‘You don’t have anything to be sorry for.’

‘Yes, I do,’ Hannah said. ‘I take you for granted all the time.’

Indy pulled back and nodded.

‘You do,’ she laughed. ‘But it’s nice having someone who relies on you.’

‘Christ, do I rely on you.’

Indy sniffed and wiped her eyes, caught sight of the time. ‘Shit, I’d better get to work.’

‘Dorothy won’t mind,’ Hannah said.

‘No,’ Indy said with a smile. ‘She needs me.’

‘I need you.’

‘It’s nice to be needed, eh?’

Indy kissed her and pushed away. She gathered her stuff together as Hannah watched, then left the flat.

Hannah looked out of the window for a time then went along the hall to Mel’s room. She stood there for a long time.

When she finally stepped over the threshold it felt disrespectful. Why should it feel different now that Mel was dead? The same room, the same view out of the window, the same pictures pinned to the noticeboard, the same neat bed with the plain bedspread, the same teddy bear Mel insisted on having in bed with her. Hannah had never seen Mel cuddle it or interact with it in any way. But maybe that wasn’t the point, maybe it was just good to know there was something familiar in your life you could rely on.