I started to shift myself in time with the music and eased Fred away by her waist. She was already smiling, and she matched her movements to my own. I kept hold of her hand and made an archway of our arms for her to shimmy underneath; she spun out the other side at such a speed that her dress kicked up around her. We broke away from each other, then, to do our own thing around the space. I let my hair fall wild and my face go pink and my breath go haggard. I sang to the chorus and made ‘Ooh’ noises in all the right places. Fred looked thrilled as she clicked and danced and made ‘Ooh’ noises in between my own. By the time the track was coming to a fade we were both panting like we’d done a back-to-back Zumba session with a cruel instructor. But I thought our satisfaction was likely off the scale.

The next track was another one I didn’t recognise. Fred was dancing into the kitchen where the speaker was housed, so she could turn the volume down to something that allowed a conversation. She pulled the fridge open.

‘Orange juice, apple juice, milkshake …’ She paused to check her watch. ‘Probably a tad early for wine but I’m not a hundred per cent opposed to it.’ She poked her head around the door. ‘What’ll it be?’

‘Orange juice, please.’ I was desperate for something cold. I loitered while Fred poured drinks and noticed, then, that half of the artwork I’d seen during my previous visits had changed. But Fred’s self-portrait still hung pride of place.

‘Still checking me out?’ She came to stand alongside me and handed me a drink.

I smiled and admitted, ‘Always.’

There was a comfortable and strange silence while we both stared at the outline of Fred’s body. Then she sighed; a hearty sigh that made my stomach turn, because I sensed something was coming. ‘Edi, you need more joy in your life.’

Although it hadn’t been what I was expecting. ‘I’m sorry?’

‘Stuff like that.’ She gestured to the living area where we’d been dancing, as though our silhouettes still occupied the space. ‘Waltzing around the living room to songs that make you make noises; wearing Saturday night dresses first thing in the morning because why save your best for other people? You know …’ She turned to face me. ‘Joy!’

I wasn’t sure whether I’d ever had an epiphany before but … ‘Christ, I think you’re right.’

Chapter 38