So she worked. She ran her club, juggled the staff rota because half of them were off with the flu. She chatted to the clients, got on with her life and tried hard to forget him. But she couldn’t.

‘All men are bastards,’ said Suki, hurting for her mother.

‘Josh isn’t,’ said Claire, but she was frantic.

Time wore on and Claire tried to put Josh to the back of her mind. Clearly, he wasn’t coming back so she had better just try to forget him. Again. Meanwhile, Suki found a better apartment a little closer to the club. She furnished her new home with pieces from vintage stores, tried to make it look good, although it wasn’t exactly Park Avenue. Claire and Vicky – Vicky lived just over the Brooklyn Bridge – came to help her decorate.

There was a tiny roof terrace at Suki’s new place and sometimes in the evening she would sit out there and drink a glass of wine and smoke a daring menthol cigarette with Claire, although neither of them really liked the taste. Suki told Claire about Aunt Ginny and what a rock she had been to her. She said that she wished Aunt Ginny could see her there, the cool city sophisticate. Ginny would laugh her socks off at the sight. She would cheer and say, You go, girl!

Then one day Claire got a call from England: it was Josh. He told her about Aysha.

‘Why didn’t you tell me you were going?’ she demanded. She was fuming mad at him. And damned glad he’d called her, all at the same time. ‘You bastard.’

‘Hey! I did. I had to go, quickly. You weren’t in, I left a message.’

‘I never got it.’

‘Nick the barman. He said he’d tell you.’

‘Nick’s been off sick. Got a dose of that thing doing the rounds. I thought you’d bailed. Gone back to Shauna. How is she, by the way?’ she said with a hint of acid in her voice. That bitch.

‘Who gives a fuck how she is? I had to be here for Aysha. Not her.’

‘Then that’s OK.’

‘I’m sorry you didn’t get the message. I love you.’

Claire melted. ‘I love you too. Oh, for God’s sake, Josh!’ Her voice was full of tears. ‘I don’t want to waste any more time.’

‘Neither do I.’

‘Please hurry home.’

‘I will.’

92

92

Over the months that followed, Josh found himself flitting back and forth across the pond, torn in two between his duties to his family and his love for Claire.

‘It’s OK,’ Claire told him, but he knew it wasn’t, not really, and that she was afraid one day he’d go back and never return. ‘I understand you’ve got to be there sometimes. I know that.’