At five o’clock in the morning, sitting on the floor of her bedroom, that was exactly what Liv began to do. She began to make a plan, one that meant neither she nor Pete would ever settle for less again.

She stepped into the shower with a new determination. No matter how things worked out for her, she was going to do the right thing. She was going to live a life more authentic, one that Rachel would be proud of and, yes, one that Pete would admire too. She would live a life big enough and generous enough for two – she would make it up to Rachel, for being the one who got a chance to live, by making sure she did the best job of it she could from here on in.

After she ate breakfast, she decided the first thing she’d do was make a list. She was going to fill up her life with things that meant something, not just work, but she had been thinking about that homeless shelter that Rachel used to volunteer at years ago. She would contact them; ask if she could help out. She would make it her mission to travel home more regularly, to help out with the farm, to be there if her father needed support with whatever the angiogram told them. She would be a friend, a true friend to Pete and, she decided, sticking her chin out with more determination than she realised she still had, she would start today.

She dialled Pete’s number as she was picking her way up the avenue to work. The snow of the last few days had built up in the grounds and although the maintenance men had no doubt spent hours and energy trying to clear the pathways, they had frozen over once again and now, the slight upward slope was more like a devilishly gradated ice rink than the entrance into one of Dublin’s busiest hospitals. She was so glad she’d worn her hiking boots. But it was beautiful, she decided, as she reached the relative safety of the front entrance, here at least, the constant application of salt and grit seemed to have given some steadiness to the surface.

‘Hey, you’re up and about early?’ Pete answered on the third ring. He sounded tired and groggy, as if she had just woken him.

‘No rest for the wicked. I’m due on shift in twenty minutes. I’m just at the hospital now.’

‘God, you make me feel guilty. I should probably go in to work and clear off my desk to start the New Year on an efficient note.’