‘Vague, right? I know. But – if I’m not part of Jack’s future and not part of his past—’

‘But of course you are—’

‘Nah, you weren’t at the funeral. There’s no trace of me in his life; not according to everyone he’s ever known. I’m just this person who occupied his spare time for five months. I somehow thought that if I could find that man, show the photo to people in the area it was taken, track him down by his work uniform, I’d get the story of his life, find out something interesting, and – oh, my God, I realise how fucking round the bend I sound. I’m from an entirely different culture from this fella. I mean, what was I expecting? Us to have a cuppa? Be invited over for Sunday lunch?’

‘A good friend of mine from back home worked here in Bangkok for many years. He said his family became close with their driver, but their relationship was established over four, maybe five years. It helped that the guy was good at languages. Your guy might not speak any English, but I don’t mean to patronise. I’m sure you already thought about that.’

‘Me head’s a mess. I haven’t slept much, you know, since.’

‘All is forgiven,’ Justin smiles. ‘Look, I can’t judge. I’m backpacking like a nineteen-year-old in the hope of a new life presenting itself to me. I’m sure in reality I should go home, get my job back and move the hell on. Hurt; heal. But this – I dunno – this somehow feels easier.’

‘Justin, give yourself some credit. What you’re doing’s brave.’

‘It’s also called running away.’

‘Nope. A lot of people’d sit at home, get drunk and feel sorry for themselves and stalk their ex online.’

‘Oh, I’ve stalked. I still stalk.’

‘I don’t blame you. But you don’t need me to tell you that’s pointless.’

‘Sure. Why take a knife to an open wound? Human fucked-up nature.’

We cheers to that.

‘And Chloe, you need to give yourself some credit, too. Who gives a shit whether you and Jack were together five months or—’

‘Fifty-four years?’

‘Hey, don’t steal my thing!’

‘Haha, sorry.’

‘But, yeah. Who cares? You know what counts. You don’t need to start looking for a needle in a haystack in Bangkok to prove you loved each other.’

‘That’s the problem, Justin. I don’t know if Jack truly loved me.’

‘He never said it?’

‘He said he “reckoned” he loved me. Like a less serious version. He never just spat it out, said those three fucking words.’

‘And did you ever say them to him?’