‘Liv, hi, it’s me, glad I caught you.’ Eddie’s voice sounded really far away and for a moment, Liv almost forgot that things had changed so completely between them.

‘Eddie, what can I do for you this evening?’

‘Oh, nothing really, I just fancied a chat, you know,’ he wheedled and she held the phone from her ear for a minute and then took a deep breath. She wanted to say, Well then why don’t you go and ring up Anya? but she knew that Eddie never called without some purpose, not really.

‘Oh, right well, fire ahead so.’ She pursed her lips. Let him make a stab at having a conversation with someone who had no intention of making an effort; God knows, she’d done it often enough over the years.

‘Well I…’ It was almost painful to listen to him.

‘Okay, so what is it you really wanted to talk to me about?’ she said, taking him out of his misery.

‘It’s just that I need to get back to work and this whole thing with the flat, it all seems a bit pointless. I mean, come on, Liv, we’re mates, aren’t we?’

‘Are we? Really though, Eddie, are we? Because I thought we were so much more?’

‘Well, yeah, I mean that too, but like, what’s the point in me finding somewhere else, when we get on so well together, in the flat?’

‘So, you could come back and share my flat with me and we could just get on with it?’ He was unbelievable. She wanted to ask if he expected her to throw in hot meals and the occasional shag also, rent-free, but she didn’t because she was too aware of the fact that the woman opposite her was staring at her with growing interest and obviously craning to hear every single word. Oh, my God, how had she become one of those people who have these huge conversations on public transport? Eddie Quirke really had brought her to a new low. ‘And what about Anya?’

‘Well, I didn’t like to ask, but yeah, she said she’d be happy with the sofa.’

‘Excuse me?’ She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Did he really expect to waltz back into her flat with his new girlfriend in tow and think everything would be fine?

‘Isn’t that what you meant?’

‘Not exactly.’ Liv wanted to explode, but the woman opposite had leant forward now and was actually smiling. The irony of the conversation was not lost on her, even if it went over Eddie’s head completely. She cleared her throat before going on. ‘Actually, Eddie, it’s not a good time to talk. I’m on the bus to work, so…’

‘Okay, cool, I can call you later. What time do you finish? I’m hoping to get back to Dublin by the weekend so…’