‘He told me about this on the way over. It’s their tree,’ he whispers. ‘Apparently it’s significant.’

James walks slowly to the base of the tree. He reaches out, letting his hands rest on the trunk. I imagine how it feels: rough, cool. He walks around it, his hand touching the whole way, before eventually settling on the grass beneath it, his head in his hands. The air around us grows cooler; the drop in temperature heightens the smell of freshly cut grass. The smell of summer. I shiver.

‘Should we go to him?’ Rhys drops my hand and steps towards James. I wait, a few paces behind. He crouches down beside him, resting his hand on James’s shoulder. I walk towards them, stopping just behind Rhys.

‘I don’t know why I thought she’d be here,’ says James eventually. ‘Stupid, really. All these years I’ve barely thought about her. Not really. And now this. Why did I think she’d be here? Like nothing had moved on.’ He shakes his head.

‘It was worth a try,’ says Rhys kindly.

‘I guess.’

I watch as Rhys studies James’s face, before eventually he says, ‘James, are you…’ He stops himself as James looks up and their eyes lock. Rhys stands, swallowing the rest of the sentence as he holds out his arms for James to pull himself up, slowly, with the effort of a man carrying more than just age in his body.

‘I know this isn’t…’ I pick out the wrong words as I try and take back control of the situation. This situation. My patient. ‘Look,’ I try again, though the two men don’t respond. ‘I know this is painful for you, and I understand why it’s difficult, James, but I have a duty to ensure we keep the police informed about this. I could lose my job if I… We need to call the police.’

‘Please don’t,’ whispers a voice behind me.

I hold my breath, not daring to look, staring at Rhys and James and waiting for their reaction. James looks first at me, then beyond me. He pales as he searches the face of the person behind me and I know, from the slow realisation that dawns for him, that it’s Susan. Gently, disbelieving, he shakes his head. ‘Please don’t,’ she repeats, her voice, tired and unfamiliar, breaking. His shoulders drop and it’s almost as though he begins to recognise the face of a woman he hasn’t seen for decades. Slowly, I turn.

‘Susan.’ I reach out to her but she doesn’t move. She’s lost in the vastness of the park, the dusk that has swallowed us all. She is quiet and tiny. Almost invisible. She’s not looking at me. She stands, barely breathing, as James finds the strength to move towards her. Forty years have passed since they were last here in this park, and I can see him searching her face, looking for the girl he knew. Both look somehow younger, the people they once were now seeking each other out. I step back, and bump softly against Rhys. We stand, lightly touching, saying nothing.