‘Yes I am,’ he smiled politely. ‘Pleased to meet you,’ and Grace was intrigued when he put out his hand to the waitress, never having seen anyone do that before in a café or restaurant. Maybe it was an American thing … to strike up a conversation with a complete stranger, as it definitely wasn’t a British thing, where people mostly avoided conversations with anyone they didn’t know. And part of her wished it wasn’t this way; she reckoned it must be nice to be that self-assured and friendly instead of anxious and inward-thinking. ‘I’m Ellis, what’s your name?’

‘Cheryl,’ the waitress giggled, followed by, ‘pleased to meet you, Ellis.’ Then, after wiping a hand on her apron, she shook his hand. ‘Where are you from?’

‘America.’ Ellis glanced at Grace, a flicker of confusion on his face.

‘He’s from New York,’ she prompted.

‘New York! Wow. Oh, I’ve always wanted to go to New York, would you show me around if I came to New York?’

‘Oh, err … probably best not to. My girlfriend is the jealous type you see, so … I’m very sorry.’

‘Oh, no, I didn’t mean anything by it, sorry, I—’ Cheryl stopped talking and glanced nervously at Grace.

‘It’s fine,’ Grace smiled at the younger girl, ‘I’m not his girlfriend.’

‘Phew, that’s a relief. Me and my big mouth.’ And she scooted off quickly.

Grace picked up a teaspoon and busied herself by scooping whipped cream into her mouth as she wondered what Ellis’s girlfriend was like. Jealous type! A mean-girl cheerleader perhaps, all blonde hair and bouncy like the Perky Yoga One; or a power type, perhaps, working on Wall Street and wearing suits and super-spikey stilettos that she could power-walk really fast in – something Grace had never managed to master.

‘Are you always so polite to waitresses?’ she asked, to open the conversation again.

‘Sure. If they’re friendly, why not?’ he shrugged easily.

‘It’s just not something we tend to do here … not that I’m criticising, far from it. It’s nice, you know … to be kind,’ Grace grinned.

‘Well, kindness matters! That’s what they say.’ And he chinked the side of his coffee cup against her mug in agreement. ‘And I know you Brits are more reserved so I probably should take note of that, or I could end up in trouble with women like Cheryl looking to hook up when they come to visit the Big Apple.’

Grace laughed and was about to ask what his girlfriend’s name was when her mobile rang. She glanced at the screen, surprised on seeing that it was Phil.

He never rang her.