He orders his Americano and turns back to join Amy and Sam. He has every intention of enjoying his birthday. They’ve already pulled up a chair for him and, as he sits down, the door opens and Cara and Max come in. Everyone begins to laugh.

‘You’ve started early,’ says Max. ‘Happy birthday, Jack. May we join you?’

‘Why wait till this evening?’ asks Jack, pulling two tables together so that they can all fit round. ‘Let’s do the show right here.’

Amy is laughing. She looks relaxed and cheerful. Sam is watching her with an odd, almost protective look, and Jack feels another surge of affection for him.

‘Get the order in, Sam,’ Jack says. ‘I bet you know what everyone wants by now. And I’ll have a piece of that tiffin. It’s my birthday, after all.’

‘Aye aye, sir.’

Grinning, Sam gives him a mock salute and gets to his feet. He checks with Max and Cara, raises his eyebrows towards Amy’s empty cup. She shakes her head and then just as suddenly changes her mind.

‘Why not?’

Another little look passes between the two of them and Jack is intrigued, but Max is explaining why Judith isn’t with them, and Cara pauses before she sits down to give him a birthday hug, and he forgets about it.

Pleased though he is to see his friends, Max is slightly irritated not to be able to have a quiet word with Cara about Judith’s new plan to move to Oxford. He didn’t want open discussion – not yet – but he wondered if he might just moot the idea to Cara in the privacy of the Coffee Shop so as to give her a warning shot across the bows. He hadn’t expected to see Jack and Amy with Sam already here, and now the opportunity is gone. His anxiety is that Cara might somehow imagine that she ought to take up Judith’s proposition so as to help them; to enable the move. He can imagine how Judith will cleverly emphasize the benefits of his being able to keep his boat, of the fun they’ll have together when he comes down to see Cara and all his friends. Cara knows how he loves his boat, how much he would miss his life here in Salcombe, and she might feel pressured to help him. He wants to assure her that this is not necessary.