All the same, they had been good neighbours, Katrina and John. Pleasant people to spend an evening with. John especially had gone out of his way to be helpful and kind. Nothing was ever too much trouble for him (how thoughtful he had been when the car broke down). In truth, by the end, Fiona would have said she was fonder of John than of Katrina.

“Fi, are you all right up there?” Gavin called.

“Yes,” she called back. Soon she would have to reappear with an armful of laundry or else he would come up to check on her, and she felt she could not bear that.

In a moment, she would go. For now, she continued to watch the water against the windows. The weather was pressing in too close, as it always did. Tommy looked like his father, but if there was coldness in him, as Fiona thought she had detected, then perhaps that came from his mother.

2

Malcolm was out of the house when Tom woke the next morning, perhaps his thirteenth or fourteenth day on the island; he was starting to lose track. While he ate his cereal, he read a book he’d found on Malcolm’s shelf about the Vikings. It was A4, with colour illustrations, and Tom spent a long time looking at the section about Viking raids on Iona, the brutal slaying of the monks and the loss of so many treasures. He would like to go to Iona again, he thought. He’d been taken to visit the abbey as a child.

Later, he went upstairs and switched on his phone. The anxiety was giving him a stomach ache, but he couldn’t put it off any longer. Couldn’t always be such a coward.

Caroline answered on the third ring.

“Tom, where are you?” she said.

“Still on the island.”

“With your uncle?”

“Yeah.” There was a long pause as Tom realized he should have planned this conversation in advance. He said, “How have you been?”

“Not great, obviously.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I messed everything up.”

“Yes.”

A silence, then Caroline added, “You’re not coming back, are you? Not back here. To me.”

“No.”

“Not sure why I asked.” Her voice sounded faint. “I already knew that. You were quite clear.”

“I’m sorry,” he said again. “You didn’t deserve this.” What a pointless, empty statement.

Apparently Caroline thought so too. She burst out, “What do you think it’s been like for me? A fortnight of wondering if you’re O.K.”

“Sorry.”

“Stop saying that. It’s useless to me.”

There was another silence. Besides apologizing, Tom wasn’t sure what else to say.

“So that’s it then?” Caroline said at last. “All over.”

“Yes.”

“I wish I’d never met you. I wish I could go back and make it not happen.” Her voice broke.