Her mum sat on the edge of the sofa, handbag clutched on her lap, coat still done up. Lily noticed the buttons were in the wrong holes, the collar jutting out at an awkward angle.

“Yes, I was just passing and I thought it’s been ages—years—since I’ve seen you at work. I’m sorry, I should have telephoned. I didn’t think.” She opened her handbag and fiddled with something inside, then zipped it closed again.

“Don’t be silly, it’s lovely to see you. I’ve probably only got about fifteen minutes, though. The diary’s crammed with meetings until seven. How are you?” Lily’s mobile pinged with a trio of successive bleeps. “Sorry—I’d just better check those. There’s a board meeting tomorrow and I’ve been waiting for some info. Just bear with me a second.” She retrieved her phone from the desk, swiped open the screen, and scanned three emails. Opening her electronic calendar to check on an appointment, she noticed a small note at the top of today’s date. “God, I’m so sorry, Mum. You had your doctor’s appointment today. How was it? Nothing bad’s happened, has it?”

Her mum looked up at her, blinking as though some dust was trapped under her eyelid. She coughed, lightly at first, and then vigorously, her hand flat on her chest. “I couldn’t get a glass of water, could I? I seem to have a tickle in my throat.”

Lily popped outside her office door, filled a glass with water from the dispenser, and headed back in. Her mum was exactly where she’d left her: sitting on the edge of the sofa as if uncertain how long she wanted to stay. “There you go. Are you sure you’re OK? That cough sounds like it’s getting worse.”

Her mum nodded without looking up. “I just had something caught in my throat, that’s all.”

“So what did the doctor say?” Lily sat down opposite her mum, smoothed her dress over her thighs.

“Everything’s fine. Just a routine appointment, nothing to report.”

The phone on Lily’s desk rang and she peered through the glass wall to where Sophie was waving an apologetic hand at her before the ringing stopped.

“Are you sure? How were your blood counts?”

“Honestly, darling, it was all the same as before. No change. But how are you? You’ve been working so hard since Daniel left and I’m worried about you. Has he said when he’s coming home for the weekend? You must be missing each other terribly.”

Her mum smiled and Lily tried to hold her gaze, tried not to let her expression betray her. “Not yet—he’s pretty frantic out there. He’ll come back as soon as he can. I know it’s not ideal but it’s only for six months and you can’t expect to have careers like ours without making a few sacrifices.” The half-truths tumbled out of Lily’s mouth.

“I’m not criticizing you, darling. You know how proud I am of both of you. I honestly don’t know how you keep all the plates spinning. It makes me tired just watching you.”