She dismisses my apology, and claims to know how hard the last year must have been. I lean down, and open the oven to check the vegetables in the oven. They smell like they are going to be fabulous.

‘Thanks for finding me.’ It is a lonely thing to say. She makes it sound like there is no one else in her life who would have found her.

‘I thought you were dead.’

‘So did I.’ Then she corrects herself: ‘I thought I was going to be …’

I set the salad things out as a deflection. ‘Shit, I forgot to ask, is steak okay? I can whip up something else …’

‘No, steak will be great.’

I take them out of the fridge and put them on the bench. They are moist and pink, but not too pale. I am rocking it.

My confidence gets out of control, and I decide to share: ‘Someone sent me some money. A lot of money. I don’t know who.’ I don’t look at her until I’ve said the last words. Her face is serene and, if anything, a little pleased for me. I had hoped I would get a sign of something else: guilt, acknowledgement, even panic. But there is none of it. Not that I think she is responsible or involved. It’s just that I can’t help feeling she’s had something like this happen either to her or to someone she knows, and I have no idea why.

‘Cash?’

‘Yes. Folding stuff.’

‘You’re a lucky boy then, aren’t you?’ I get ‘playful’ instead of ‘panic’. There’s my intuitive skill on full display.

‘I’m not sure what to do with it. I don’t know whether to spend it or send it back to the post office.’

‘I would normally say “Spend it”, but I’ve had too many close calls with tough guys to think that anymore.’ The only thing that is odd here is the calmness of her response. She is not alarmed, surprised, or intrigued. It’s just a thing that has happened to me. I take the steaks to the barbie, which is just outside the kitchen door. They sizzle nicely when I put them on and return to my waiting guest.

‘The “tough guys” are the ones who were blackmailing Tito?’

She nods sadly. I take the veggies out, and let them sit on the oven top while I go out and turn the steaks. Elaine doesn’t offer to help, and I don’t need it.

‘He didn’t live up to his end of the bargain.’