‘Made your point.’ He straightened up, still in his clothes from the day before. ‘Listen, I’m really sorry about last night. I don’t know what got into me. I think it was seeing that shiny new doctor, bursting with vim and vigour. It just reminded me of myself, all those years ago …’

Connie gazed at him. ‘Retirement doesn’t have to be grim, you know,’ she said gently. Despite her irritation, she did feel sorry for him. She understood how hard it could be for anyone, going full tilt for so many years, then having nothing to get out of bed for. But that was months ago now and, if anything, he seemed even more unhappy. The problem was, he’d never made an actual plan about what he would do when he stopped working. Suggestions had been bandied about, but neither of them had given it proper, serious thought. He’d been too stressed at the time, and since then, apparently too low.

He stared at her for a second, a calculating edge appearing in those deep blue eyes. ‘Really? Maybe you should try it sometime,’ he said, raising his eyebrows in question, the faint smile that accompanied it barely reaching his eyes.

Connie shook her head. This subject had been slowly building a head of steam over the past year. Now hardly a week passed when Devan didn’t try his luck. ‘I’ve told you a million times …’ she sat down so she could meet his eye ‘… I’m not ready. It’s different for you. You got to the stage where you hated your work. I still love mine.’

Devan’s expression hardened as she watched him rasp his fingers roughly across the day-old stubble on his chin. ‘I didn’t hate my work,’ he said dully. ‘I always hoped I’d keep going till I was at least seventy. It just became impossible … too many patients, not enough time or money.’ He gave a dispirited sigh. ‘I keep thinking I’ve made a terrible mistake, giving it all up. But then I remember the reality.’

She’d heard the same thing so often she felt she was running out of ways to respond helpfully. He was, she was certain, using her retirement as a peg upon which to pin his unhappiness. ‘But there are loads of things you could do now,’ she said encouragingly. ‘You were going to ring Lillian, weren’t you, find out about that medical website she works for? Or you could talk to your mates at the Royal College of GPs – they’re bound to have some ideas. With your expertise …’