‘. . . She was never going to understand Sabbir committing suicide. Do you know the really sad thing though?’ I wiped my eyes on my sleeve and looked at Jackie. ‘It shouldn’t have been a shock to any of us. All the warning signs had been there for years. We just didn’t see them.’ I paused. ‘The truth is, I can’t stand on Brick Lane without remembering him and wondering whether I could have done things differently.’

Brick Lane, 1984 – Maya

Brick Lane, 1984 – Maya

Jasmina holds the packet of Love Hearts to her nose and sniffs. ‘You have a go.’ Her giggle rings out in the enclosed space of the shop. She stuffs the packet at my face. ‘It’s like breathing in luuuurve.’ She makes her voice go all dreamy and breathy as she says the last word, and pulls a silly face.

‘Urgh. They’re too sickly.’ I push her hand away, grabbing several Cough Candies instead.

‘Come on, you two.’ Sabbir’s frustrated plea falls on deaf ears as usual. He’s at the door, flicking through a magazine which he’s already paid for. ‘Dad’s waiting.’

‘I wouldn’t worry,’ Mrs Feldman whispers to Jasmina and I conspiratorially, and it sends me into giggles because she’s deliberately made her voice loud enough for Sabbir to catch. ‘If I know them, your father will be having a good chinwag with my husband.’

Sabbir’s demeanour relaxes and he returns his attention to his magazine.

Jaz peers at the contents of my paper bag. ‘I don’t like Cough Candy. They cut the roof of my mouth. You always get Parma Violets. How can you say that Love Hearts are too sweet and like them?’ She chuckles.

Coming to Mrs Feldman’s shop is such a treat. Dad came home in a good mood and announced that he was taking us out.

‘The wholesaler delivered some new sweets this morning,’ Mrs Feldman says. ‘My son put the order through and only told me when they arrived. Shall I get him to bring them out for you?’

Jasmina and I beam at her.

‘Thanks, Mrs F,’ says Jaz.

‘Knowing him, he’s probably putting through a few more orders while his father’s not looking.’ She chuckles, as though she’s secretly proud of Tomasz’s interest in the shop. She disappears out the back and begins calling. ‘Tomasz? Tomasz, love, could you bring the new sweets through for the Rahman girls?’

A few moments later, she arrives back with a mousey-haired boy in tow. He’s about Sabbir’s age but taller. I’ve seen him in the shop before. He’s carrying two boxes with an air of cool about him.