Lily smiles to acknowledge the kindness in the words, but she can see Edna knows mentioning the theater was a mistake.

“Anyway, I’m here to stay. If you’ll have me.”

“What? For good?” She can’t mean it!

“As long as you can put up with me, anyway.”

“What about London. What about your job?”

Edna sneers. “London’s getting a bit hairy, if I’m honest. I could do with a break from it all.”

“But what about the office. Mr. Grainger and the girls?”

Edna snorts. “Yes, well. I’m finished with those sorts of people. It was getting a bit much listening to them gossip all day.”

Gossip about Edna. Or about her?

“I’ll find something anyway. I thought I might try my hand at teaching. And in the meantime I can help out with the housework. And your mother.”

Oh, yes! Yes, please, yes!

Something occurs to Lily about Mam’s easy acceptance of this unexpected guest. She knew. They’ve cooked this up between them. They think she can’t manage by herself. It occurs to her perhaps they’re right.

“You’ll need to get a job,” Lily says.

“Why, Lillian Bainbridge, you sound just like your mother!” Edna laughs and Lily laughs and then Edna takes her hand. “It’s going to be all right, Lillian. You’ve got me now.”

Lily looks up at her friend. She is not a pretty woman, not really. Handsome, maybe. And those bright hazelnut eyes . . . fixed so intently on the screen.

Lily carefully wipes a tear from her cheek. She looks round at the room, the same room in which she had that conversation with Edna all those years ago. It feels like yesterday. It feels like a lifetime ago. Suddenly she hates this place. She needs to get away from it. Even if only for a short while.

Edna is looking at her, her caterpillars folded together into a thick line. “Are you going to go to the doctor’s?”

“What?”

“It’s happening more and more, isn’t it? When are you going?”

“Monday,” says Lily without thinking, and changes the subject. “I was thinking about that trip tomorrow.”