‘It’s okay. It’s a bit of a shock, I know. You can wait here – this is where he’ll be coming back to after his tests are finished. You’ll be able to sit with him for a little while before we know what’s happening next.’

‘What’s happening next?’ The girl was on the verge of tears.

‘Don’t worry. You know as much I do, for now. Sit here and try not to worry too much, okay?’

Bunkum. Of course she was going to worry. Wasn’t Liv herself in a bad way, and she didn’t even know the man, however drawn she’d felt to him.

4

‘I‌t’s the phone, for you, Liv.’ Her mother, still in her dressing gown, handed the phone over, rolling her eyes as she did, so there could be no mistaking who was on the other end of the line. Barbara Quirke. Her mother never actually said it, but Eddie’s mother was like salt in an open wound. They didn’t get on, but Yvonne would never admit to the fact. Or at least, not once it became obvious that Eddie was going to be a regular feature in their future lives.

The most recent skirmish involved Imran, a yoga instructor that her mother adored. Barbara had managed to scupper his Mindfulness classes in the local community centre. It was exactly the sort of thing she did, and probably how she’d managed to step on just about every toe in the village over the years. The weekly classes had been popular with everyone, from the mother and baby club to the local retirement group. It was all going so well, until one evening when Barbara had arrived for her ‘chat and crochet circle’ (or ‘the knit and knife coven’ as Maya called it) and spotted Imran rolling up his mats.

Hard to know if she’s an old-fashioned killjoy, or just an out-and-out racist, Liv’s father had said. Liv worried it might be a bit of both, but she’d never admit this. Soon, Barbara was on a mission to shut down the yoga classes and by piling on the pressure with the committee about health and safety, eventually Imran had to move the class to the next village over.

‘I was just telling your mother – I’m sure you already know, Eddie will have mentioned it – but I seem to have developed an allergy to gluten now.’ Barbara paused for a moment, waiting for this news to settle on Liv. ‘It’s shocking how these things just creep up on you. One moment, I had the constitution of an ox and the next, well, I suppose, I’m a lot more fragile than I was…’ Barbara’s voice quivered pathetically as she let the words hang in the air between them.