Josh Piper, Catriona McCabe and Alex Fletcher

Josh spies Cat standing by the railings at the bow of the ferry. He can just about make out a glimpse of Britain.

‘Hullo,’ he says, drawing alongside, eyes tight shut against the buffeting wind.

‘Hullo,’ Cat says, turning her back on the sea to open her eyes and face the deck.

‘Shall we drive avant or arrière today?’ Josh asks.

‘Well, I need to hang around the village,’ Cat muses, ‘I want to speak to Stuart O’Grady and Jay Sweet.’

‘We’ll go arrière then,’ Josh decrees.

‘OK,’ Cat says brightly. ‘I wonder what the presse buffet will provide us with today.’

‘If it’s crap,’ Josh reasons, ‘we can abuse my expense account and go for a blow-out dinner when we’ve finished our reports. A few bottles of Seize beforehand.’

‘OK,’ says Cat.

‘What are you doing on the 7th?’ Josh asks.

‘Isn’t that the San Sebastian Classic?’ Cat responds.

‘Well, I was thinking more along the lines of dinner at mine – meet my wife.’

‘And reminisce?’ Cat asks.

‘Absolutely,’ Josh confirms.

‘It’s a date,’ Cat says.

They share the affable silence that is true testimony of good friendship. After a while, Cat turns to Josh. ‘Yesterday,’ she says quietly, ‘was bizarre.’

‘You’d never have known from the quality of your report,’ says Josh, a rolled-up copy of the Guardian in his back pocket, ‘your piece was great.’

‘My final paragraph,’ Cat elucidates, ‘my last full stop – rather than bringing matters to a close, it flung the doors of my life hereafter wide open.’

‘You have so much ahead of you,’ Josh stresses.

‘I know that now – unequivocally. But the realization would not have transpired so soon had he not turned up. I was finally able to conclude that chapter of my life, put the last full stop in place. Now I have a clean, fresh page. It’s a little daunting but quite exciting too.’

‘Did he want you back?’ Josh probes.

‘What if he did?’ Cat replies. ‘I don’t know where my future will take me but I now know very clearly what I don’t want. As I packed my rucksack one final time last night, I actually did some unpacking too. Things I don’t need for my journey, things that were weighing me down.’

‘That was then and this is now,’ Josh defines. ‘You know, Cat,’ he continues, thinking himself very Oprah fucking Winfrey, ‘we’re often at our strongest when we decide to take risks – because we’re ready and confident to tackle whatever the outcome will be.’

‘You know something, Josh?’ Cat responds. ‘I feel blessed with that strength now.’

‘I feel seasick,’ moans Alex, joining them. ‘Great hairstyle, Cat. Fuck me! We’re almost home.’

‘About ten minutes from docking,’ Josh estimates, scouring the horizon and the land mass like an old sea dog. ‘What are you doing on the 7th, Alex?’

‘It’s the San Sebastian Classic, isn’t it?’ Alex says.

‘Or dinner round mine,’ says Josh.