Jess shook Ben’s outstretched hand, only half reciprocating his broad smile.

“Hey, Jess. It’s good to meet you.”

“Yep, you too. So did it all go OK, Mum? Do you want to tell me about it in the car? I don’t want to hurry you but I’m in a residents’ parking bay and I don’t want to get a ticket.”

Her mum hesitated, and Jess glanced down at her watch, wondering whether Mia had eaten dinner already, wishing she’d had time to phone her before she’d left work.

“Yes, of course. But Ben was just telling me about his travels in South America. He’s been to so many interesting places—Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Brazil. You’ve always wanted to go to Patagonia, haven’t you?”

Jess swiveled her key ring around her finger, felt it dig into her flesh. “Yes, but I don’t think that’s very likely in the near future. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude but I’ve still got a mountain of work to do for tomorrow’s shoot and I do need to get back to the car. Do you think we could get going?”

“You know, Audrey, I could always run you home from rehearsals, if that’s helpful? You’re Shepherd’s Bush, right? I’m Chiswick. It seems silly to drag your daughter here when I could easily drop you back.”

“Oh, I couldn’t possibly impose on you like that. It’s really very kind, but I can easily get a cab.”

“Honestly, it’s no trouble at all. Saturdays would be tricky as I have private piano students straight after but Wednesday nights really aren’t a problem. Seriously, it’s crazy you paying for a cab or getting your family to collect you when I’m practically driving past your door.”

“Mum, just say yes, for goodness’ sake. He’s obviously very happy to do it.”

An echo of impatience lingered in the air. Jess noticed a tinge of pink heat her mum’s cheeks, saw Ben look down at the piano keys as though he might have left something on top of them. She watched as her mum pulled a tissue from her handbag, coughed into it, and rolled it into a ball before slipping it back inside.

“Well, if you’re sure, Ben, that really is very kind of you. Jess, I’m sorry to be a pain but I just need to use the bathroom quickly. You go ahead and I’ll see you at the car.”

Standing next to Jess’s car, looking at her license plate, and tapping digits into a handheld device was a short, stout middle-aged man in a notorious bottle-green uniform.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. I’ve only been gone a couple of minutes.”

The traffic warden glanced at Jess and then back at his machine, continuing to fill in the details of her parking ticket even as he replied. “You saw the sign? Then you shouldn’t be surprised you got a ticket.”

“I only left the car for a moment while I ran inside to collect my mum. Isn’t there some rule about five minutes’ grace?”