From that moment he felt a two-fold duty to keep her alive and to keep her happy. To ease the complications of their transatlantic existence, education-wise, at least, Ever was eventually put into a boarding school in England. The shock was made even greater when a postcard arrived for him, after only a couple of weeks at the school, saying that she was having a wonderful time in Los Angeles. This compounded his feeling of rejection, and confusion, in that she had always been the one wanting to go back to England. It also made him worry that he wasn’t there to help her. His thoughts were not about himself, in those early years of his life, never, they were concern for her.

The letters which followed from his mother, which he dutifully replied to, were always signed off: Yours affec. Mum. No kisses. He had no idea what this meant, he would ask the other boys what was written at the end of their letters, how their mothers signed off: without exception, they divulged, lots of love, all my love, I love you, one of the three, or one of the first two – then an I love you as well. And followed with lots of kisses. He asked his mother, in a letter, what it meant, she explained – Yours Affectionately.

His immediate thought was, couldn’t she be bothered to write the whole word? He never suggested she change her sign-off, though, so he continued to receive letters ending with those three words, Yours affec. Mum. And no kisses.

He got his first mobile phone when he was fifteen, probably as a result of his near death experience, rather than any attempt at technological advancement, just to be able to keep in touch; her emails or texts still ended with the same remote formality.

There was an event that left Ever with an ineradicable feeling of both guilt and horror.

When he asked, at the age of thirteen, if he could spend a night in his mother’s bed. He felt frightened at the anticipation of the pale blue hand.

This, by now, was making his father’s anger grow at every request, he repeatedly stated the boy was too old for this now, and, as if to lighten the complaint, always added that he didn’t want to spend the night on his own.

He got lonely too.