A month ago, Pip would have considered herself to be worse company than Jez, but over the last few weeks things had begun to change. Finding the diary and meeting Evelyn had given her something other than herself and her own misery to focus on, and that had been refreshing. But if she let herself think about her general sense of improvement, it had the reverse effect and made her guilt worse. How dare she let things move on for her when the boy’s family would always be living in a half-light? As soon as she began to feel a little better, the familiar sense of self-reproach became larger and darker. It was like taking one step forward and two steps back.

However, her conversation with Evelyn had given her food for thought. Getting on with her life didn’t necessarily mean she had forgiven herself or forgotten what had gone before. But it certainly went a long way to making her day-to-day existence more stable.

Jez was a friend in need and again, as with Evelyn, it was her trying to help rather than being helped by someone else. It felt good.

‘That’s fine,’ she said to her mother. ‘It’ll be lovely to see him. What time did you say?’

‘He’ll pick you up around eight, but if that’s no good you’re to text him and let him know.’

Pip picked up her phone and sent a quick message confirming the plan. Already she was looking forward to the evening, even if Jez was down in the dumps and so wouldn’t be on top form. She’d forgotten how well they got on, lost sight of it somehow. Spending time with him over the last few weeks had been like rediscovering a long-forgotten treasure. It was such a joy to be with someone whose company was so effortless. There was so much history between them and consequently so much that didn’t need to be spoken. Their conversations worked using a type of shorthand that she just didn’t have with her newer friends, and had never got anywhere close to with Dominic.

An hour later, she and Jez were in the pub again, their drinks on the table in front of them, but this time the vibe was very different. Whilst her mood had risen steadily since they had last been together, Jez’s had fallen into a deep, black pit and appeared to be irretrievable.

‘How’s it going?’ Pip asked him, deciding it would be best to start with a nice wide question that he could answer as he wished, and that would give her an idea of which way the conversation was going to flow.

‘I’ve had better times,’ he said without looking up. ‘Being single is crap.’

Pip touched his shoulder gently, her palm feeling his warmth through his T-shirt.