He looks expectantly at Sam, who nods. ‘OK. So we all had coffee with Fliss and Hal. They really hit it off with Cara and she’s coming over for lunch next week. Well, you too, of course, if you want to come. And then I drove Cara to Dartmouth and along the coast.’ He wonders whether to mention the breakfast at Blackpool Sands but for some reason decides against it. ‘Really, I’ve just been letting her get a feel of the area. It’s been great fun.’ He pauses. ‘So when’s Judith coming home?’

Max sips some more gin and tonic. ‘Don’t quite know. It’s easier now Paul’s home and Freya’s ankle is on the mend, but it’s still a tough call with Poppy, who’s very demanding, and the baby due any minute. I have a feeling Judith will hang on a bit if they want her.’ He smiles at Sam. ‘Families, eh? So how are you doing?’

Sam looks at his godfather, longing to confide in him but he resists it.

‘I’m having a great time, actually,’ he answers. ‘I hadn’t realized how good it is to show places I really love to somebody who’s never seen them. It’s made me think …’

He hesitates. It’s not in his nature to bare his soul but one of the reasons he’s come to Salcombe is that he’s hoping to bring his confusion into the open: the thought that somehow, by simply joining the navy, he’s inviting into his life the same kind of disaster that happened to his grandfather and father.

‘To be honest,’ he says, ‘it sounds a bit weird but since I passed the AIB it’s like all my past has suddenly resurfaced. You know? Mole being blown up and my grandparents being killed out in Kenya? It’s like I’m hearing it for the first time and having to deal with it. And at the same time I never knew any of them so I’ve nothing to work with. It’s always been a part of my life – I’ve grown up with it – but suddenly I’m having this problem with it.’

Max turns his glass round and round, his eyes fixed on it while he thinks about what Sam has said.

‘I suppose,’ he says at last, ‘we all come to that moment when we cross the divide between childhood and adulthood. Suddenly, you’re assuming responsibility for yourself, making up your own mind about things, taking your own decisions. Who we are plays a big part in that. It seems to me that two major things have happened to you. Lizzie, who has been your continuum, has married and moved on, and you’ve passed the AIB. Right so far?’

Sam nods. He feels uncomfortable, already wishing he hadn’t spoken out, but he’s got to run with it now.