I opened my mouth and closed it again a few times, unsure how to reply. ‘I can’t even think about letting you do this unless you know first-hand what she’s like. I’m going to tell you the good, the bad and the horrendously ugly, and then you have to meet her and get to know her for yourself, and maybe then we can think about having this conversation again. You’ve just escaped decades of a horrible relationship. I’m not going to let you walk into another one.’

Karina sagged then, and for the first time in a long while, she allowed me to see the pain and the struggle behind her smile. ‘Okay, that is sensible. But I also need to tell you that my offer isn’t as kind as it seems. I feel very lonely, living on my own. I find it frightening. Being able to read is good, but there is still so much I can’t do. I’ve made silly mistakes and my landlord is not pleased.’

I reached out and took my friend’s hand. Eventually, I was the one to break the silence:

‘Would you like to come for dinner on Wednesday?’

Now, two months later, here we were, steeling ourselves for the stealth attack. Yes, it had required some degree of manipulation, but isn’t it best to fight fire with fire?

Karina was brimming with anticipation. I was virtually crippled with anguished nerves.

‘How are you, Tina?’ Karina asked, chopping a lettuce that was waiting on the side.

‘I’m very well, thank you. My chest has been so much better these past few weeks.’ Mum opened the oven door to check if the quiche was ready. ‘How are you?’

‘Oh, not great,’ Karina replied, trying really hard not to sound like an overexcited child on Christmas Eve. ‘I’ll tell you about it while we eat.’

A few minutes later, sitting at the rickety plastic table in the garden, Karina laid out her woes. I’d hoped for a few minutes of craft-talk to lure Mum into the best possible mood, but it was clear Karina couldn’t wait.

‘I mentioned that I’ve been having some issues with my landlord.’

Mum and I nodded. We’d heard it, ooh, once or twice.

‘Well, things have reached crunch point. When I complained again about the leak in the bathroom, the broken fridge and the light fitting that blew up, he sent me a bill for the repair work, saying it was my doing! He hasn’t even arranged for anyone to do the work yet and he wants me to pay!’

This was true, although it had been three separate bills, over the course of the winter. Karina had not paid, and she did now have a replacement fridge.

‘That’s horrendous!’ Mum gasped, outraged that someone would treat her new friend like this.