She nodded and put her sticks down. ‘There’s still inflation and the lock-in. It’s not looking good out there, inflation-wise. We’re much better off getting, what, six per cent in our special interest account?’

I nodded. I hadn’t expected anything, I was just having the conversation. One of those conversations without any pressure or urgency. We could do it or not, it didn’t matter that much – it made a difference of just a point or two. But we were mathematicians still. At heart, we wanted the maths to make sense. It wasn’t really about having more money; it was just getting the numbers to chime in a way that felt rhythmic to us.

‘Though,’ she said finally, ‘we could just buy dollars. That’s going only one way at the moment.’

It was all just money. If we lost anything or made anything, it wouldn’t be life-changing. Solid international currencies were pretty safe.

I skewered some chicken and black bean sauce with a chopstick.

‘Yeah, maybe,’ I said.

After Grace. After the whole thing. After she left, that final time, I emptied out the account and took it home in hundred-dollar bills. Hard cash. It sat there in the living room – the same room we’d spent so many nights in, curled on the sofa, watching TV into the vanishing night – a quarter of a million dollars. In cash.

Except by then there was no TV and no Grace. Just me and a block of money where the TV used to be and odd scraps she’d left behind in drawers and cupboards.

When we gave notice on the flat, I needed somewhere to put it all. It had been so frustrating getting the money out of the bank that the idea of taking it back there was just too much. The telephone conversation I had with the bank clerk the week before I withdrew it all comes back to me.

‘We can’t close the account unless we have both signatures. It’s a joint account, sir. We’d need Ms Mackintosh to sign her consent.’

‘But I added her name. I’m the one operating the account,’ I explained.

‘Yes, sir. But when you added her name, you agreed that the account could not be closed without both signatures.’

I looked at the phone, wishing that it would become sentient just to witness my frustration.

‘But that is stupid.’ I thought for a moment, frustrated by everything. ‘Can I withdraw as much as I want in cash, at least?’

‘Yes, sir, there are no restrictions on withdrawing cash. Except for dollar amounts above ten thousand dollars, you would need to order the cash a week in advance.’

‘Fine,’ I say. ‘I’ll have the lot. I’ll be round in a week to collect it. I’ll bring my own bag.’ She stuttered immediately, trying to say something, but I holstered the phone.