‘Well, it was obvious they liked each other.’

‘Was it?’

‘When it comes to romance, you men never seem to see what’s right in front of your eyes! The blushes were a dead giveaway. Anyway, the hall didn’t have any bike sheds, did it?’

‘Metaphorically speaking, Madi. A bit of innocent teenage hanky-panky was going on, that’s all I meant. Or I hope it’s innocent, seeing as they’re barely fourteen. You must remember what it felt like though? All the sneaking about, and the hand-holding, and kissing the back of your own hand for practice. We all did it, didn’t we, back in the day? Young love, it’s like no other, eh?’

Madi laughed. ‘If you say so, Tom.’

As Tom pulled in through a set of iron gates and squeezed the car into the last available parking space, Madi realised where they were.

‘We’re visiting Barbara?’

‘I thought she’d like to see you. And that you might like to see her again? I talk to her about you quite a lot, and she does remember. Sometimes …’

The three of them clambered out and Tom clipped a lead onto Flush’s collar.

‘They won’t mind her coming in?’

‘Oh, no. Pets are very therapeutic, you know. All the residents love her. They queue up for a pat and a cuddle, and some of them slip her little treats from their pockets when they think I’m not looking. Flush loves it all, being made such a fuss of, and making friends. But Barbara knows she’ll get the most attention. Flush is our dog, after all.’

Madi smiled at that. Barbara might not be able to live at home any more but Tom made sure she was included in everything. It was still their house, their dog …

‘Come on, let’s get inside, shall we? They’ll hopefully have cleared away the remains of Sunday lunch by now. They eat early, but regularly, just like in hospitals. You sure you don’t fancy a bit of cold beef and a yorkie? There’s bound to be some left in the kitchen.’

‘You must be joking. Nothing for me until at least six o’clock.’

‘Not even a slice of Olive’s fruit cake?’

‘Definitely not a slice of Olive’s fruit cake! Oh …’ Madi stopped in her tracks.

‘Surprise!’ A chorus of voices rose up as Tom and Madi entered the lounge. Madi looked around. The soft high-backed chairs had been rearranged into a long row, with lots of extra smaller stacking-style chairs lined up in front, and people of all ages were sitting in them, all heads turned her way. Was that Prue and Simon in the corner? And Patty, with Sian and her husband-to-be, the vet? And there were Faith and Stuart, whom she had seen only an hour or two ago. What was going on?

The more she looked, the more familiar faces she saw, laced in between the unfamiliar ones she realised must be the residents of the care home. And the whole area in front of the big floor-to-ceiling windows had been cleared to resemble …