Eventually, though, she knew she had to break the hug; Dr Jekyll made that obvious when he wound his way between their legs, yowling plaintively.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, stepping back from Simon’s embrace. She wasn’t quite sure what she was saying sorry for. The cat? The hug? The whole evening? Or just the fact that she was clearly on the verge of losing it completely?

“It’s okay, Olivia.” Simon’s voice was gentle. “It’s fine.”

She drew in a shuddery breath. “It’s just...it’s always been my mum and me,” she said, trying to explain why this was affecting her so deeply. “We’ve been a team since...well, since forever.” Another shuddery breath; saying even this much was harder than she’d thought. “I can’t imagine it any way else.” And yet she knew in her heart, in her very bones, that it had already changed without her realising it. Already her mum wasn’t the same. They weren’t the same. “That’s why it’s so hard,” she finished. “But thank you for taking us to the hospital, and waiting while I settled my mum. I really appreciate it.”

“You don’t have to keep thanking me.” Simon smiled wryly, a touch of sadness lingering in his eyes. “You’re sure you’re okay?”

No, she wasn’t okay, but she couldn’t ask any more of Simon now. “I’ll be okay,” she said. “I’ll ring the doctor tomorrow.”

He hesitated, looking uncertain. “Of course, you don’t have to come out for a drink tomorrow night, considering...”

She’d completely forgotten about their would-be date. She felt as if they were in a whole other place now after this evening. “No, I’d like to go. It will be nice to do something different.” She tried to smile. “If you’re still up for it, that is.”

“I am.”

“Okay, then. The Three Pennies at seven?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

They gazed at each other for a moment, the silence that stretched between them feeling both comfortable and strange, as if they were communicating something without words.

“I’d better head off, then,” Simon said, and turned towards the door. “See you tomorrow, Olivia.”

“Yes, see you tomorrow.” She waited until he’d disappeared down the street, into the darkness, before she locked the door and turned off the lights, heading upstairs to her flat with Dr Jekyll hard on her heels, eager for his dinner.

Chapter Seven

The next morning Olivia rang the local GP, muttering a prayer of thanks under her breath when a last-minute cancellation meant her mother could be seen later that morning. She rang Harriet next, asking her to cover the shop for an hour or two, something she’d done on occasion in the past, when it couldn’t be avoided.

Olivia had never liked asking favours from people; perhaps it stemmed from her childhood, when she and her mum had been their own secure, and somewhat isolated, unit. Mum had always been proud not to need anyone else, even though she’d loved providing baking and a listening ear to whoever came her way. It was a one-sided offer, to be the listener and sympathiser rather than the listened to, the one who needed a bit of compassion, and Olivia had inherited that tendency, the drive for self-sufficiency and security. Better to be needed than to need.