She hadn’t wanted to say it, and now, as she heard the words coming out of her mouth, she almost wished she hadn’t. She loved the time she and Pip spent together and had come to rely on her company more than she would care to admit. But still, it needed to be said, and if she was to consider herself a true friend to the girl then she had to be honest.

Pip didn’t seem to have caught what she said or had missed her meaning. Either way, she eyed Evelyn quizzically.

‘To London,’ Evelyn clarified. ‘You should really be thinking about going back to London. I know you love your job so you must be missing it, and I’m certain they will be missing you. And London is where you’re meant to be. It’s lovely that you have been back here and that you’ve managed to reconcile all your old prejudices about the place, but now it’s time you were getting back to your real life.’

Pip didn’t speak for a long while. Instead she cupped the mug of cocoa and stared out at the street beyond the window. It was almost midsummer and the evening sky still held the last of the sun’s rays. Evelyn waited. If she had learned anything in her seventy years on the planet, it was the importance of timing.

Eventually, Pip returned her focus to the room.

‘I can’t,’ she said.

Evelyn said nothing, the obvious question hanging in the air between them. There was no need to ask. Pip would explain, given time.

‘I’m scared,’ she said, after a few more moments.

‘Of what?’ asked Evelyn.

‘Oh, I don’t know,’ said Pip. ‘Just everything. I’m scared that I won’t be able to work without cracking up again. I’m scared that there won’t be any work for me and my career is ruined. I’m scared that I have nowhere to live, and now that I’m single I will have no friends and no social life. I’m scared of driving. I’m scared of not driving. I’m scared that I won’t be able to cope and will have to come back home. I don’t think I could bear to have to do this again.’

‘And you’re going to let all that stop you from being where you’re supposed to be?’ Evelyn asked.

Pip shrugged. ‘But where am I meant to be?’ she said. ‘I’m not even sure about that any more.’

Evelyn raised an eyebrow. The question required no further reply.

They sat in silence for a while, listening to the seagulls calling to one another.

‘I always think,’ said Evelyn, ‘that the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.’

Pip looked at her and grinned. ‘And precisely how many elephants have you eaten?’

‘Oh, you’d be surprised,’ Evelyn replied.