‘I wasn’t, but I am now.’ She nodded towards the cloud. ‘I could have believed it was the middle of summer a moment ago but now I can certainly believe it’ll be November on Tuesday.’

‘Fancy a walk?’ I asked.

‘Sure.’ She squeezed my hand. ‘Is it time?’

I nodded. ‘It’s time and I’d like you with me.’

We walked down the steps in front of The Surf Shack and onto the beach. I took a deep breath.

‘Are you okay?’ Jemma asked.

‘I think so. I’m glad you’re here.’

‘After everything you’ve done for me, I wouldn’t be anywhere else.’

We wandered along the beach in silence. I could do this. I could stand there and not break.

My pulse raced as the rock pools came into sight in the distance. The sky darkened another shade and so did my mood as I re-lived our last moments together.

I felt a tug on my coat sleeve. ‘You don’t have to do this,’ Jemma said. ‘You’ve already faced a lot of memories today. If this is too much…’

Was it? I ran my fingers through my hair and interlinked them at the back of my head, holding them there with my arms pressed against the sides of my face and my head lowered. I took another deep breath then lowered my arms. ‘No. I can do this. I need to do this.’

We continued towards the rock pools in silence.

‘Where was it?’ Jemma whispered.

The sky darkened further as I pointed to a patch of beach a few feet away from the first rock pool.

‘I’ll wait here, shall I?’

I nodded. Another deep breath. On shaky legs, I strode the last ten metres or so to the spot. I don’t know what made me do it but, when I got there, I looked up towards the sky and, at that exact moment, the clouds parted. A shaft of sunlight beamed down right on me and a feeling of calm flowed through me. ‘Nikki,’ I whispered, as the sun warmed my cheeks. ‘You’re here.’

I turned in a circle with my arms spread wide, soaking up the sun. I could see Jemma where I’d left her with her hand over her mouth, staring up at the sky.

‘Goodbye,’ I whispered, completing my circle and squinting into the light. ‘You go and catch some waves. Don’t worry about me. I’m getting there. It’s slow, but I’m definitely getting there.’

A few seconds later, the sun disappeared behind a cloud again. She was gone. I stood there for a minute or so more, then returned to Jemma.

‘The sunshine…’ she said.

‘I know.’

‘It was beautiful.’

I nodded.

‘I don’t know what your beliefs are but it seemed like Nikki was there for you.’