He looks at Elaine, who is sitting on a re-upholstered red baroque chair. A short gasp of pleasure escapes from his mouth. Her face is heavily made up, but there is no mistaking that her top lip is split. He scans her face and wonders what other bruised delights lie beneath that thick layer of cosmetics. The raw tones of Jackie’s South London crowing interrupt his thoughts. His eyes slide towards her. She has shoulder-length dark hair and judging by the crusting of chocolate powder on her lips she is drinking a cappuccino. He notices the small boy with dark blond hair sitting on a stool opposite them seemingly lost in the glow of a Samsung phone screen that is too big for his hands. He recognises him from Elaine’s Facebook page. He is her son, Jordan.

‘Jordan, let’s get a selfie with you, me and your mum,’ shrills Jackie.

‘But my lip, Jackie. Frank’ll go mad!’ protests Elaine.

‘Sod Frank! It’s about time everyone saw what he does to you.’

He has been communicating with Elaine for five weeks using a faux Facebook account with another person’s photos, and is familiar with her troubled marriage to Frank. He has been an attentive, sympathetic and occasionally flirtatious confidant. He has given her the non-judgemental support she craves. It has been a tiresome but necessary part of his grooming process.

He watches as the boy stands between the two women, smiling as Jackie stretches out her arm to take a picture of them all. She can’t quite seem to get them all in.

‘May I?’ he offers.

They all look over at him but he locks eyes with Elaine. Young blonde Elaine with her damaged face. She smiles sweetly at him and something clicks inside.

‘Oooh, thanks very much!’ says Jackie.

He takes her phone and points it at them as Jackie and the boy each beam brightly at the lens. Elaine moistens her split lip before cracking a toothy smile. With his fingers he enlarges the screen and focuses in on her lip. ‘Perfection!’ he says, returning the screen to the original size. Their faces are frozen, bordering on impatient.

‘Say, cheese!’

With fixed smiles, they cry, ‘Sheeeze!’

He presses the button and lets it click several times before handing it back. ‘I took a few shots,’ he says.

‘Thanks.’ Elaine’s fingers shield the split in her lip.

‘You’re welcome.’

He returns to his table and hears Jackie say, ‘I’ll check us in on Facebook.’

He opens up Facebook on his MacBook Air, searches for the Lumberyard Café page and straightaway finds the picture he has just taken.

Jackie Morris has checked into the Lumberyard Café on Seven Dials with Elaine Kelly and gorgeous Jordan.