‘Oh sorry,’ she said as soon as she saw him.

‘How are you, Maddy?’

‘I’m fine.’ She smiled. ‘Let me get you a cold beer. We must make the most of this spell of heat.’

He followed her into the kitchen.

‘I was sowing lettuces, broad beans and carrots. I grow all my own veg.’ She rinsed her hands.

‘I used to help my gran. She grew onions, tomatoes and potatoes mostly.’

‘So satisfying, isn’t it? And so much tastier than shop ones.’ She took two French beers out of the fridge.

‘We had whopping great tomatoes every year. God knows what she did to them.’

They laughed. She stretched up to the top shelf of the cupboard but couldn’t quite reach the glasses.

‘Let me do that,’ Max said, touching her arm to gently move her aside. She gazed up at him and their eyes met for a second.

‘It’s all right, I’ll get the step.’

‘It’s no trouble.’ He took down two half pint glasses.

‘Sorry, can’t abide beer being drunk straight from the bottle, has to be in a glass, much more civilised.’

They sat under a parasol at the end of the garden, near a gnarly old apple tree. Maddy poured the beers and handed him one. ‘Now then, you have a quote for me?’

He handed her a folded sheet of paper from his pocket. She glanced over the figures for some time. Perhaps she’d changed her mind. He surveyed his surroundings. It was one hell of a garden, mature and substantial. He’d love to get his hands dirty here.

‘All looks fine to me. I think we have a deal.’ Her smile made her whole face glow, as though she’d just delivered the happiest news of her life.

‘That’s brilliant. It’s a no-brainer for me, to be honest. It’ll really help me get on my feet.’

‘I’m glad. You can start tomorrow if you want to.’ She took her hat off and ruffled her shoulder-length hair. ‘I’ll get you some cash for materials.’

‘That would really help, thanks.’ He couldn’t believe his luck. A measly £6.74 was all he had left in the world after the bus fare. Maybe it was obvious how skint he was.

‘Good.’ She raised her glass. ‘Here’s to a fresh start for both of us.’

They chinked their glasses together. It felt so good to be starting somewhere new, be someone different earning an honest wage instead of being stuck as someone’s lackey.

He arrived the next day and every day at 6 a.m. Maddy would let him in and go off to the cafe, leaving him a massive fry up and a pot of tea. After the lunchtime rush, she came back to make him a sandwich and see how he was getting on. They spent the afternoons chatting and he’d usually finish about 6 p.m.