‘Look,’ Brody began, with no preamble, raking his hands through his springy hair. ‘I’m sorry about the radio silence. Our ship got as far as Vanuatu, but then the winds picked up. There was rather a lot of offshore, which was presently onshore, and vice versa, and soon there were more trees resting on the upper decks than is desirable. The ship got blown into a reef, then laid low in port for a bit, before limping back to Sydney for propeller repairs. I got severance pay and joined some of my medical mates from Sydney who were off on a professional retreat at a wilderness lodge in Tassie. I was just drowning my sorrows in drink and wallowing in the general bollocks of being cross and hairy and living in squalor when one of the doctors started talking about a case she’d had recently, of a mother and daughter who shared the same initials . . . And how her practice had sent a letter revealing stage-four, terminal pancreatic cancer to the daughter instead of the mother. Well, needless to say, my ears pricked up. And I just want to say that I’m sorry I didn’t believe you . . . The lodge insists on digital detox, otherwise I would have contacted you straight away. Anyway, as soon as I got back to the mainland yesterday I tried to call you, but your phone’s been off. So, I got your address from a mate who works for the cruise company. But I didn’t want to go to your house, you know, to avoid the testicular trauma and compound fractures that might greet me upon my arrival. I mean, have you told your husband about us? Are you even still married?’

I was too stupefied to speak. I just kept looking up into his tanned, open face and remembering his lovely lips on mine while trying to fathom what the hell he was attempting to say to me.

‘Anyway, obviously now I knew your mum’s initials and, like a lot of people her age, it turns out her address is in the phone book. So, I headed for the Insular Peninsular. You know I like to experience exotic, distant places with unfamiliar customs,’ he joked. ‘I thought I could find out the lay of the land, and also see if your mother could use my help.’ Brody paused in his explanation for a moment to look at me more closely. ‘Do you need to sit down? You’re white as a ghost.’

‘Yeah, well, a mother dying will do that to a girl.’