She found herself laughing and stuck out her hand. ‘How do you do, David? I’m Shelly. No long line of Shellys, but my mum just loved the name.’ They grinned at each other and, for the first time since Christmas, Shelly felt a little joy at the mention of her mother. Under the table, her fingertips sought the bracelet and a secret smile directed at her mum bloomed in her heart. This David from a long line of Davids had broken the shackles of misery and set her free for a few minutes. She felt lightheaded, dizzy.

‘That’s a great idea of yours,’ David said, breaking her thoughts. ‘I’ll take Pat to see her pups . . . well, they’re not pups now, of course, but your children are always your children, I guess. What made you think of it?’

‘I’m going to be a vet.’ Shelly pulled up short of saying when I grow up. ‘I have an affinity with animals, you know, I understand them and they understand me. Can’t imagine life without them. I think it’s because I’m an only child.’

‘I’m the same about water. I only feel complete when I’m in it.’

‘Swimming, you mean?’

He nodded. ‘Diving’s my biggest pleasure. I want to earn a living as a Tec diver, but it’s not something you can just walk into and it’s expensive to get the qualifications. That’s why I do the websites and lifeguarding.’

‘What’s a Tec diver?’

‘Basically, a deep diver that breathes mixed gas, and makes decompression stops on the way up.’

‘Sounds complicated and dangerous.’

‘It’s another world. Do you snorkel?’

She shook her head. ‘Never tried.’

‘You should. It’s amazing. Me and my mate Simon, we go whenever we can. I can’t even begin to describe it. It makes you forget everything.’

‘I don’t want to forget my mum, not for a moment,’ she said quietly. She looked into his face, and saw his awkwardness. ‘I hope her memory never fades, ever; but I just want to say, you’ve helped me a lot, today. I’ve never been able to talk about her, before. Not at all. Thank you. It hurts so much, you can’t imagine,’ she whispered. ‘Even so, this afternoon has helped.’

His shoulders dropped. ‘That’s cool. Pleased to hear I’ve been some use. You see, I lost my mum too. I know how you feel. Like it’s never been so bad for anyone else. I guess it really is the most painful thing.’

She didn’t want to give him the wrong idea. ‘You’ve been really great, thank you, but actually I meant my mother’s bracelet. I collected it this afternoon. I’ll never take it off.’