‘OK, but I better run. I don’t want to be late for the volunteering.’

‘Fine. Oh, and you know, you and Miles are welcome to pop over at some point during the weekend. Julie’s going to help me put in some flowerbeds. Maybe we could do a BBQ?’

‘Maybe. See you later.’

I close my eyes for a couple of seconds as I walk away, wishing that I wasn’t pushing him away so much. I want to tell him why I’m acting weirdly towards him, but I don’t want him to think that I don’t like Julie, because that’s not it at all. I should try to make more effort to find a way of moving past it and make the time for us to both sit down and talk through what I’m feeling.

‘Are you not going away anywhere over the holidays?’ I ask Arnold on the drive to Lola’s house.

‘Yes, I’m due to go to my daughter’s house in Cornwall. Spend some time with the grandkids.’

‘Nice. How many have you got?’

‘Three. They’re older now, teenagers, so they’re not always crazy about spending time with their old granddad, but they humour me for a bit.’

‘I bet they enjoy it really.’

‘I hope so. They’re good kids. When they’re not out on their surfboards giving me a heart attack. My daughter wanted me to move down to be near them in Cornwall, but all that surfing, my nerves wouldn’t be able to take it. You don’t surf, do you?’

‘No, I’ve never done it. I did paddle boarding last week, but that’s a bit more gentle.’

Arnold pulls up at a red traffic light and cranks up the handbrake.

‘I think I’ve seen it. It’s the sport where people stand up on the board?’

‘Yes, although I spent a lot of time on my knees and falling in the water.’

‘I’ve never been one for the sea.’

I think back to how I used to say that too. How Joel changed my opinion of it. The traffic light changes, and Arnold turns on to the road where Lola lives.

‘I wonder if she’ll speak today,’ I say, as we pull up outside of her house.

‘Hopefully, but the main thing is she’s engaging with us. She might not be saying it out loud, but she’s listening; you can see it in the way she looks at the pictures in the books after that she’s remembering the stories.’

‘I hope so.’

Kate opens the door and she looks worn out. Her hair’s scraped back into a messy bun and her eyes are ringed red.

‘Hello, you two,’ she says, trying to push a smile onto her face.

‘Hello, Kate. How are things?’ asks Arnold in his gentle voice.

She looks like she’s on the verge of tears.