I nodded, as if I knew. Another moment passed. My head throbbed. ‘She had a daughter?’ I asked, just to make sure.

Shirley nodded.

‘Here?’

‘Well, in Spalding General.’

‘She had a baby with Barry?’

Shirley laughed. ‘I don’t think she had any other offers.’ She paused, and smiled dreamily. ‘Gorgeous little baby. I can’t have any, you know.’ She started untucking her sweater.

‘Shir—’ said Jim.

‘Can’t have kids. Take a look at these scars.’ She stood up and pulled down her skirt. I saw her belly.

‘Shirl!’ said Jim.

‘I’m only showing him. We tried for six years, didn’t we, Jim. I had this operation, and then another one.’

She sat down suddenly and started to cry.

Jim turned to me. ‘What you do that for?’

‘I’m sorry,’ I said. I stood up. ‘Better be going.’

Shirley wiped her eyes. ‘You going back into Spalding?’

I nodded.

‘Give me a lift, could you? Got to catch the shops and all our cars are bust.’

Jim asked: ‘How’re you going to get back?’

‘There’s the bus at six.’

He frowned. ‘You take care of yourself.’

She grabbed her coat. I said goodbye to Jim, who didn’t move. He was gazing at his wife.

In the front yard, the dog rose to his feet, wagging his tail. I went up to him and stroked him.

‘Remember Teddy?’ I asked him. He slobbered over my hand. I thought: my son has stroked this fur. He’s slobbered over Edward, too.

Shirley said: ‘Rinty got run over. That’s a new one.’

She walked beside me up the road. Her perfume was strong enough to smell out here. She didn’t seem surprised to see a coach. In fact, neither of them had asked me anything about myself, or why I was here. She climbed in and sat next to the driver’s seat, across the aisle. It was such a grey day that it was already dusk.

‘She did my horoscope,’ she said. I climbed into the driver’s seat. She turned to me. ‘Said I’d meet a tall, fair stranger.’

‘Oh yes?’ I started the engine and tried to turn the coach in the narrow road. It took three goes, shunting to and fro.

‘She said I’d do a lot of travelling.’

I felt vaguely uneasy, and didn’t reply. We drove along the road, back towards Spalding.

‘Smoke?’ She lit a cigarette, and passed me one. Then she said: ‘There’s something I want to tell you.’

Warily I asked: ‘What?’ She wore the same sort of white cowboy boots as Eleni; I could see them out of the corner of my eye.

‘I know where they went.’

I swerved towards the ditch.

‘Watch it!’ she cried.

I steered the coach back on to the road. ‘You do?’

She paused, and dragged on her cigarette. Mist was rising from the fields; I put on my lights.