I cleared up the mugs and plates.

‘I was up at Grandad’s today. Sorting out his things.’

Jack continued his scrutiny of the pigeon population.

‘I brought some bits and pieces back with me, I don’t know whether you and Lola want to keep anything? They’re in a box in the car. You could bring it in for me.’

He leaned on the table while I unpacked the box. My hands shook a little. He clicked the lighter once or twice but couldn’t make it ignite, and glanced without much interest at the books of notes. I shook the photographs out of the envelope and spread them out to show him the picture of his grandmother and me in my smocked frock. The aunties’ forgotten smiles beamed out of the sheaf at us.

‘Some of Ted’s girlfriends,’ I said unnecessarily.

Jack picked up the picture of the woman sitting on a stone wall and studied it for a minute. ‘She was at the funeral,’ he said.

I remembered the woman in the dusty fur. I knew now why the picture had stirred a recollection. ‘I thought I recognised something in the picture. What was her name?’

‘Audrey,’ Jack said.

That’s right. ‘You’ll be his daughter,’ she had said. ‘I’m Audrey.’

Now Jack was flipping through the little brown address book. ‘Here,’ he said.

Sure enough, there was the name, no surname, almost the first entry. There was no address either. Ted must have known her well.

Jack said, ‘Do you know what? She must live really near to us. Look.’ The first digits of the telephone number were the same as ours.

‘So she does. Well, did, I should think. She probably moved long ago.’

‘You should call her and ask if she wants any of this.’

‘Yes,’ I agreed in surprise. ‘Yes, I could do that.’

After Jack had gone up to his bedroom I rang Tony.

Suzy answered the phone. In the background I could hear a lot of children’s noise. Their twins were nearly four.

‘Hiiiiiiii, Sadie,’ Suzy trilled. ‘How are you?’

We exchanged brief polite remarks. Suzy always speaks to me as if I am deaf or mentally defective. I suppose it is because of the great difference in our ages, although she doesn’t talk to Tony that way despite the fact that he is even older than I am.

‘You want to speak to him?’

‘Yes, please, if he’s there. Thanks. Bye for now.’

He came on the line, his voice sounding exhausted and at the same time utterly familiar. ‘Hello, Sade. Everything okay?’