But as soon as that thought arose, I swept it away. That’s not how I’ll end up. I just know it. I’ve spent too long drifting, allowing myself to be a passenger in my own life, blaming other people for the mistakes I make. It’s not Daff’s fault or Alice’s fault or my dad’s fault that I screwed up; it’s mine. I’m the one in control here. I need to remember that.

If you don’t like your life, you can change it.

The watch-seller was right about that – and he was right about something else, too. All that hopping about through Christmases past, present and future did make me realise once and for all what I really wanted.

Daphne.

It’s always been her, and it always will be. Even if I never get to hold her or kiss her or even see her again, at least I know now for sure. That’s why I have to fight for her, even if it takes everything I’ve got. If she says it’s over, I will accept that – I’ll have to – but I need to try. I need to prove to her that I’ve changed, that I can be the kind of husband she deserves.

My phone rattles on top of the biscuit tin: a message from Alice. I switch it off. I can deal with that later. I sent her a text an hour ago, cancelling our drink on the 29th and apologising for everything: for what happened in Paris, and afterwards, and at Marek’s wedding. I told her that I was still in love with Daphne and I was going to do everything I could to make it work between us. Whatever Alice has said in reply, this – today – will be the last time we speak.

I glance down at my watch again. It’s hard to stop looking at it: the novelty of seeing the thing actually ticking after all this time. I wonder if I’ll ever see the watch-seller again. Or whether he was telling the truth when I asked him about his resemblance to my grandad Jack. A mad thought suddenly surfaces that maybe he was my grandad Jack, sent back to earth from God-knows-where to look out for me. Probably best to sweep that one away too. I’m not sure I’ll ever find out the truth. Either way, I feel an overwhelming rush of gratitude towards him. Despite his maddening tendency towards vagueness, I’ve learned so much on this journey he sent me on: about myself, about the world, about how to love and how to show love. Part of me keeps wondering if I just dreamed the whole thing, but deep down, I know it all happened. I can’t explain why; I just know.