The air was cold and the sky high over them but not as big as the sky in the city they’d left – the hills here held it in. They felt grateful and free. They still wanted to be sober more than anything else they wanted, and today they were sober. They still went to meetings, they’d never not gone to meetings, they helped out more than they used to. Sometimes it felt like it was much easier to be sober and some days it felt harder than ever, but it still came down to doing the next indicated thing. It was a long game, but it could still only be played one moment at a time. And they still had each other. Heidi had moved to the new city a few months after they had. Dell was supposed to come too but Heidi had knocked on their door by herself. There had been a disagreement – a difference of opinion about the best way forward. Heidi wouldn’t talk about it and they weren’t sure who had won but Heidi had come to the new city and Dell had stayed put. Peggy and Greta still looked behind Heidi sometimes, and beside her, and they thought they could hear Dell in another room. It had been six years and the habit died hard. It was nice to have Heidi, but they still hoped Dell would turn up one day.

The supermarket was bright and there were a lot of people shopping. Peggy had a beanie on and she kept it on as they walked through the automatic doors. The bakery was on the other side of the supermarket, but they could walk straight there once they were through the fruit and vegetable section. They stood in front of the cakes and buns and took turns picking up plastic packages and holding them so they could both read the ingredients.

‘Peggy?’ someone said behind them, and they both turned round. ‘Greta?’ It was Dorrit. They both hugged her.

‘What are you doing here?’ Peggy asked.

‘Up for work.’ Dorrit sort of pointed with her hand, like work was a fixed thing that stayed in one place in time. ‘I’m holed up in a hotel and wanted some chips.’ She held the chips up and they all laughed. ‘I haven’t seen either of you in ages. Since we were in the shop.’

Peggy and Greta nodded. ‘It’s been ages,’ Peggy said.

‘I haven’t seen you since you left the Salvation Army shop,’ Dorrit said, and they all nodded. She wasn’t wrong. ‘But what have you been up to?’ she said.