Patrick downed the brandy in one, topped it up and told Queenie to pour herself one. ‘You’re gonna need it, sweetheart.’

Queenie could feel her heart beating rapidly. ‘Mary’s not dead, is she?’

Patrick took a deep breath. ‘No. But she doesn’t have long, Queenie. Mum has a tumour on the brain, hence all those headaches. We only found out on Wednesday, but Mum didn’t want you to know straight away. She knew you had Ida’s funeral to contend with first.’

‘Oh my God. Oh no. There must be some hope for her, surely?’ Tears streamed down Queenie’s face. Life without Mary seemed unimaginable.

‘You haven’t heard the rest of it yet. Dolores.’ He shook his head. ‘Mum told me ages ago she thought the girl was pregnant as her gut was growing by the day. Did she mention it to you?’

‘Yeah. But only the once. I mean, I’d clocked Dolores had put on a bit of timber when we changed shifts – she was wearing baggier clothes.’

Patrick sank another brandy and put his fingers through his dark hair. ‘The baby’s Daniel’s. Bridie found out, kicked Daniel out, so now he’s fecked off with Dolores and I haven’t even had the chance to tell him Mum’s dying yet.’

Queenie took deep breaths to try to control her emotions. ‘How long has your mum got left, Patrick?’

‘Weeks. Six at the most. She’s going to get worse, Queenie, be in a lot of pain. Now Dolores is out of the picture, there’s no way you can take care of Mum alone. You’ve got your own family, responsibilities. I’m going to find her the best local hospice that I can. That way, we can visit her regularly and she can be given any pain relief she might need. I could strangle Daniel with my bare hands, I honestly could. He’s never failed to disappoint my mother, not even on her death bed.’

Patrick found Mary the most wonderful hospice. It was a big house in Finsbury Park and there were only three other patients there.

Queenie visited her friend every day, sometimes with the boys, but as Mary began deteriorating rapidly, she went alone. It was awful to see her once vibrant friend wasting away in front of her eyes. She’d also become a bit confused and forgetful.

Queenie always visited in the daytime and the boys loyally visited every evening without fail. When Patrick finally tracked down his brother, Daniel had been devastated to learn his mother was dying. Patrick said he’d broken down in tears. Tears of guilt, Queenie surmised. But Queenie knew how much Mary loved both her sons. No matter what they did, she would stand by them.

One day when Queenie arrived at the hospice, Mary was sitting up and seemed in better spirits. Queenie kissed her.

‘How are you today, Mary? You’re looking much brighter than yesterday.’

‘Better. Bridie visited me last night with the grandchildren.’

‘Oh, how lovely,’ Queenie smiled. Bridie had two children with Daniel, a girl and a boy. ‘Was Daniel here too?’