‘You might be the only nurse in Ireland to be in a hurry to get back on shift after the holidays.’ Francine laughed, but Liv could hear the impatience in her voice. She needed to get back to that buzzer. If the hospital was as busy as it sounded in the background, Liv had a feeling she wouldn’t have much time for moping about the place after all.

Her dad wasn’t keen on her going back so suddenly. ‘Just like that?’ he said when he came in for a cup of tea with the good news that he thought the ewe he’d been waiting for seemed to be showing the first signs of labour.

‘Well, they need help and that is why I became a nurse after all – to help and look after people.’

‘It’d be more in your line to look after yourself from here on in,’ Maya snorted under her breath.

‘Should Maya drive you back? You can’t go bringing everything on the train and then lugging it across the city to the flat before going on shift.’ Her mother couldn’t hide the concern in her voice.

‘And what about Eddie Quirke? Who’s going to sort him out when he comes knocking on your door looking for his dinner?’ Her father sounded as if he’d like to sort him out personally.

‘No, it’s okay. Pete said he’d drive me. Actually, going back a little earlier will give me a chance to sort through some stuff. I can have Eddie sorted and out of the flat before he even thinks about returning to Dublin,’ Liv said with a finality that was starting to sink in, even for her. The truth was, she knew Eddie would probably sit about and moan about the fact that he had nowhere to live, rather than getting off his backside and doing something about it before he was due back to reopen the workshop. That was Eddie all over; he’d wait it out and probably hope that someone else would solve the problem for him. She was proud of herself for sounding far more confident than she actually felt.

‘Well, that’s good,’ her mother said filling the kettle again. She’d always liked Pete. At one point – it seemed a long time ago now – she’d hoped that perhaps he and Maya might end up together but Maya didn’t take long to put her straight on that front.

‘So that’s settled; you’re back in Dublin for the New Year and we’ll see you the following weekend?’ Maya said. She wasn’t asking. Liv knew that if she didn’t come back home, there was a good chance that Maya would arrive on her doorstep to make sure she was all right.