I nod my head and he types something into his computer. Then his phone starts to buzz on the desk. He grabs it swiftly and turns it off. As I watch him I remember something. I’m sitting at my desk in the study, staring at the screen just like this young man is, and then my phone buzzes. I know it’s the day of the dream catcher because some of the wool is on the desk in front of me. I feel my heart leap in my chest.

‘Mrs Allan?’

I look up. Neil has freed his hands from the keyboard and sits with them folded on the desk in front of him.

‘Sorry,’ I say. ‘I’m still finding it hard to concentrate.’

‘Yeah, I can see that,’ he says. ‘Now due to your health issues it may be a while before you’re declared fit for work. I’ll organize an assessment for six weeks’ time but in the meantime here’s a breakdown of what you’re entitled to.’

He hands me a piece of paper with various boxes printed on it.

‘You’ll need to come in to sign every two weeks,’ he says. ‘We’ll count today as your first signing day and then it will be every other Tuesday. Now if you could just sign the two boxes at the bottom of the form, we’re all done.’

I hastily scribble my name then hand the forms back to Neil.

‘Thanks,’ he says. ‘See you in two weeks.’

I scramble to my feet, trying to keep my composure as I make my way through the open-plan room as fast as I can. But I can feel Neil’s eyes on me, judging me, a woman who hasn’t worked for ten years, a flaky idiot who couldn’t even keep her daughter safe. And the worst thing is, I know he’s right.

‘Okay, this is it,’ says Sonia a few minutes later, stopping outside the bank.

I’m not really listening to her. I’m trying to remember more about that phone call, the one I remembered when I was sitting in the job centre. Who was it?

‘Ready, Maggie?’

I look up at the familiar building, a sinking feeling in my stomach. I have banked with this branch almost all my life. I know many of the cashiers by name. There is Sue, who organized a loan for us when we were renovating the house; Val, the red-haired Welsh woman who always gave Elspeth a barley sugar sweet whenever we came in; Ashley, the manager. The thought of going back in there in this state, having to answer questions, having them look at me with pity in their eyes, I just can’t bear it.

‘It’s okay,’ says Sonia. ‘It’s just a bank. We’ll be in and out in moments.’