By the time I arrived at my car I’d decided to sell my house. As Calvin had observed, it was worth a bob or two. The property was mine, Greg was out of my life, I could do what I wanted with it. I could sell up and start a new life in Deal. I’d been thinking about it since that conversation with Calvin. Deal was a charming town, familiar from my childhood. Greg and Azra had never set foot in it. I’d be free.

And rich. Homes were a lot cheaper in Deal. What would I do with all that extra cash? Give it to Max and Lucy?

I sat in the car, thinking long and hard about this. I had to admit that over the past months my children had been something of a disappointment. They hadn’t even flown over for Christmas; at the time they’d had no idea that cousin Dorothy would come to my rescue. The trouble was, as I’ve said, I’d kept assuring them I was fine. Who could blame them for taking me at my word?

Maybe I’d give the money to Extinction Rebellion.

I burst out laughing. A passer-by looked at me. I realised an hour had passed and I was still sitting in my car. A Pimlico Plumbers van had come and gone, and it had started to rain.

Still I didn’t move. I felt a surge of euphoria. I hadn’t expected this; I loved my house and had lived in it for nearly forty years. Life, however, is full of surprises; we can all agree about that.

‘Look at that sky!’ Johanna had said, flinging herself on the grass. ‘The freedom, oh, the freedom!’

I got out of the car, walked home, and rang the local estate agent.

To my surprise I had three offers within the week. ‘Unrenovated homes like yours are becoming increasingly scarce,’ said Barry, from Murray and Brookes. Like many estate agents he was barely out of his teens, with gelled hair and smooth beige skin, as if he’d been polished with a chamois leather. ‘Our overseas buyers like to put their own stamp on a property and of course it’s a very safe neighbourhood with good schools. Five bedrooms and a larger-than-average garden are another plus, and of course there’s Waitrose on the doorstep.’