He kissed her on the cheek, and she could hear him talking and fussing as he made his way down the stairs. She heard the front door slam, and sighed sadly; the house was so empty when he wasn’t in it. It had always been far too big really. Michael loved it and, in her own way, so did she. It was a home fit for a large family; as Michael used to joke, many years ago, the Von Trapps would get lost in it. That was back when they had thought they would be banging out babies as and when they desired them, before the pain of disappointment had settled over them. That was a long time ago.

She stood up slowly, and made herself cross the large landing to the bedroom she had once shared with her husband. As she walked into the room, she was pleased to see that he was already wide awake. He was sitting up in bed, watching the news on TV. He had a large mug of black coffee in his hands, so she knew he had already been up and about for a while.

‘I didn’t hear you come in last night, Michael.’

She sat on the bed beside him, and he leant over to kiss her lightly on the lips. ‘I was late in, Josephine. I didn’t want to wake you up, darling.’

‘Did you talk to Jessie? She hasn’t called since Tuesday morning. How did she seem yesterday? Did you ask her about Sunday?’

Michael Flynn looked at his lovely wife, who he loved more than anything else in the world. She was already in full make-up as always, and dressed in a very fetching cream-coloured silk dressing gown. It was expensive, he could see that, and it looked wonderful on her. Lana must have picked it out for her. She had always taken such good care of herself; the last few years, it was all she ever did. It was surreal, seeing her fully made-up night or day, her hair and her make-up perfect, as if she was going somewhere. His life was fraught with so many problems; sometimes, like now, he resented her for that. But he wouldn’t say anything. It was too late.

‘I didn’t see her, love. I had a lot on yesterday, and I didn’t hang about too long. To be honest, I wasn’t in the mood for her anyway.’

Josephine smiled at her husband gently. ‘I was hoping you’d seen her. But you know Jessie – she’ll turn up at some point.’

Michael nodded his agreement. ‘Like a fucking bad penny, she is. Anyway, we shouldn’t let her bother us. She knows where we are.’

Josephine didn’t like her husband’s attitude but she didn’t comment. ‘I wish she’d call me though, Michael. We talk regularly, you know that.’