“Don’t ‘oh, Mum’ me. I’m happy. Do I miss him? Of course. Every minute of every day. But it’s a little easier now than it was in the beginning. Not the pain—that’s the same—but I’ve learned to breathe round it. I’ve learned that the pain doesn’t stop me doing things, it just comes along with me like a very annoying companion. And having the photograph right there makes him feel closer. If I confess that I talk to him, are you going to have me locked up?”

“Of course not. But why didn’t you tell me all this sooner? Todd and I moved here so that we could be closer to you. So that Aiden could have you in his life.”

“And I will forever feel lucky and grateful that you moved here. But it doesn’t mean I need you on my doorstep every minute of the day. That would be irritating for both of us.”

“But you miss him terribly.”

“I do. I miss his smile, the way he always put his head on one side when he listened. I miss the way he always found the good in the bad. And of course I miss the sex—”

“Mum!”

“What? I’m only seventy. Seventy is the new seventeen, did you know?”

Clare didn’t know. Her face was hot, and it had nothing to do with the stuffiness of the attic.

“Oh, Clare.” Her mother looked both exasperated and amused by her discomfort. “You think sex ends when you’re forty? Or fifty? Your father and I had a very active sex life right until the week before he died.”

Clare felt light-headed. She couldn’t believe they were having this conversation. Her mother never failed to surprise her. “I—Have you thought of dating again?” Was that the wrong thing to say? Apparently not because her mother had a thoughtful look on her face.

“I have thought about it. I’ve even gone online and had a look—”

“How?”

“Aiden helped me. I made him promise not to tell you. Judging from the look on your face, I assume he didn’t.”

“No.” Clare felt faint. “No, he didn’t.” She thought about her boy, her baby, sitting next to his grandmother helping her log on to a dating site. Even while a part of her was handling the shock, another part was saying good for him.