‘And what is he about?’ I asked, squatting down in front of her so I could look at her properly. ‘Dolly, what’s going on?’

Dolly instructed me to make a pot of tea and fill a plate with sausage rolls and cheese straws before she would say another word and once it was all arranged, and the drink poured, I pulled my chair closer to hers.

‘Hattie,’ she then said, without any preamble whatsoever, ‘I’ve got cancer.’

My cup wobbled in the saucer and she leant forward to take it from me and put it back on the little table.

‘And I’m not going into details about which one. It doesn’t matter, because I’m not going to have any treatment.’

I sat stock-still, not knowing what to say.

‘According to Doctor Harris and the consultant at the hospital, fiddling about might give me a few extra months, but there’s no guarantee and they’d be pretty miserable months at best, so I’d rather not.’

I folded my hands in my lap and stared at them.

‘I might make it to spring, if I’m lucky,’ she carried on, ‘Hogmanay if not,’ she chuckled.

My head snapped back up.

‘Sorry,’ she said, the smile fading from her lips.

I shook my head, sharp tears stinging my eyes.

‘You’ll have to forgive my brisk explanation,’ she said kindly. ‘It’s how I’m dealing with it, I suppose and of course, I’ve had considerably longer to get used to the idea than the three seconds I’ve just given you. I didn’t actually want you to know yet, but Dr Harris has said it’s time I spilled the beans’

My heart felt as though someone had wrapped it in elastic bands and were pulling them tighter and tighter. This couldn’t be happening. Dolly had only just retired. She had so much left to do, so many places to visit, so much life left to live. Her entire adult life had been given over to others and now she was telling me that there was nothing left over for herself. That couldn’t be right.

‘And before you ask if the hospital have muddled my notes with someone else’s,’ she said quickly, quashing my last hope, ‘they haven’t. This is definitely me that we’re talking about, whether we wish it otherwise or not.’

‘How long have you known?’ I croaked. ‘Exactly how long have you had to get used to the idea, as you put it, Dolly?’

She reached to the table again and handed me back my tea.

‘I’d add another sugar to that if I were you,’ she suggested.

I shook my head and she picked up her own cup before settling back.