Standing outside the meeting spot she’d selected, she looked up, taking in its unassuming facade, and automatically smiled, remembering her first visit there.

This place was the perfect location to meet Ed. It was close by so not too tricky for her neighbour to get to, absent of any accessibility hurdles. It was also easy-going and considerably less stuffy than many of the more high-end eateries around here, and quieter too.

Despite Ward’s early promo efforts, business had since tapered off and gone back to normal, tap-and-go Millennials apparently unimpressed at the proprietor’s steadfast refusal to bend to technology.

Hannah smiled. Since she already knew Ed certainly wasn’t a Starbucks kinda guy, maybe he and fellow technophobe dinosaur Frank would hit it off and if he didn’t already, Ed might even keep frequenting this place once she was gone?

She was still taken aback that now, after all this time her curmudgeonly neighbour wanted to meet, and while in truth she wasn’t especially up for being sociable, there was no way she was going to turn him down. He had obviously come to value their faceless companionship a lot too.

So the notion that this meeting might have a dual purpose in helping her lonely neighbour make a new friend made Hannah feel less guilty about her out-of-the-blue announcement that she was leaving at such short notice.

She was curious too about the insight he’d provided in his latest missive about Ward and Rob’s public showdown and the suggestion that maybe she’d misinterpreted. But she could certainly agree with his assertion that Ward’s current status as a former client was the best thing for all concerned. There truly was always something so wise and reassuring about Ed’s words.

Now she wondered momentarily if she was subconsciously tempting fate by deciding on such a meeting spot. ‘No,’ she reassured herself. ‘It’s old school, just like him.’

Last night when she’d picked up Ed’s note on return from her walk, she’d written a quick response thanking him for the invitation, saying she would meet him here tomorrow at eleven.

And just so you know who to look for, I’m mid-thirties, chestnut-hair, about five-three or so. I’ll head in early to grab us a table. Excited about meeting in person.

Even though he hadn’t provided a physical description in return, she was pretty sure she would be able to identify Ed when he came through the door; an older male with mobility issues, a gruff exterior and inferiority complex that concealed his inner child and good heart.

Huh she thought now, sounds familiar . . .

Hannah took a quick look at her reflection in the window of Frank’s coffee house, fluffed her hair, then opened the front doors and strode in. Squinting a little to get her bearings, she glanced around the café’s current patrons, trying to discern whether Ed had beaten her there.