‘So how are you doing, man?’ Ryan says. ‘It’s been years. What do you do for a crust nowadays?’ He moves himself around to break Finn’s gaze on me.

‘Bit of this, bit of that.’ Finn grins at them. I gulp down my beer. Bit of beating up women, I think. Bit of growing dope for the cops, lording it over little kids. Bit of being a cult leader. Bit of threatening Charlie and his dad. The usual. My snort of contempt goes ignored.

‘Take a load off,’ Ryan says, pointing at a chair. ‘We’ve got a lot to catch up on.’

Sal is rubbing Finn’s back. ‘So good to see you, babe,’ she says.

‘How do you three know each other?’ I ask. I can’t hold it in any longer. They look at me as if I’d spoken German, or Dog.

But before anyone answers, Finn’s leather-vest-wearing friend pushes his way through and whispers in his ear.

While they’re talking, Ryan says to me: ‘I was going to ask you the same thing. How do you know Finn?’

‘And why are you being such a dick to him?’ Sal adds.

Finn turns away from his friend to address Ryan and Sal. ‘Got to finish something. Good to see you.’

‘Sure, yeah,’ Ryan says.

He kisses Sal. ‘Where can I find you guys?’

Ryan reaches into his jeans pocket and pulls out a receipt. ‘Pen?’ he asks me.

I dig into my canvas rucksack and hand him a biro.

He rests the paper on the table between wet coasters. ‘This is our number. We’re mostly staying with my folks. And when we leave, they’ll know where we are.’

Finn takes the paper. ‘Cool. I’ll be back this way in a few months, probably.’ He slaps Ryan on the back. ‘Good to see you.’ Kisses Sal. ‘Spunk.’ He looks at me and shakes his head.

I watch Finn go inside the bar. I can still see the top of his head but he’s well out of earshot. Sal stands behind Ryan’s chair and hugs him from behind, resting her head atop his. They lift their eyes in sync, a two-headed creature regarding me thoughtfully.

‘Atherton,’ Ryan says. ‘Remember how Sal and I took a semester off in third year and lived up north? We stayed in this wild house at the top of a hill, with a river running next to it and this incredible view across a valley. A mattress floor in the living room, bunch of musicians, chickens and goats free-ranging.’ He waits for me to indicate I remember hearing about any of this.

‘Yeah, vaguely,’ I say.

‘That was Finn’s place.’

‘Heaven,’ Sal says. ‘We should’ve stayed longer. That seed bread Lucy used to make?’

Ryan smiles widely.

‘So you’d have met his girlfriend, Skye?’ I ask.

‘Sure,’ Ryan says as Sal sits beside him. ‘We know Skye, and her baby, Beau. You loved that kid, didn’t you?’

Sal coos. ‘My little lamb.’

‘Haven’t heard from Skye in years,’ Ryan says. ‘Are they still together? I should’ve asked about her.’ He twists around in his seat to see if Finn is still here.