Mandy nodded. “Yeah, I think so. I know you’ve got your friends to look out for you, but you are my only family. Suddenly being on the other side of the world seems too far away.”

Her mum smiled. “Well, I can’t say I’m upset about that. I like having you nearer.” She hesitated a moment before clearing her throat. “And this job that your friend has organised, what will it be?”

“Managing the bar, just like I was doing in Melbourne. Only it’s a bigger club, with more staff working for me, so I’ll get much more experience.”

Her mum looked away and back again. “And is this what you want to keep doing? Managing bars?”

Mandy picked up on the slight disparagement in her mother’s tone and sighed.

“I know you don’t think it’s much of a job, Mum. But I really enjoy it. And I’m good at it. I do have a dream to open my own club one day, and I can’t do that without a bit more experience of working in them. It’s a step towards something bigger for me. I…I hope to use the money Dad left me to help set up my own place one day.”

Her mum nodded, and smiled more brightly than Mandy had seen her do in months. “I think he would have liked that—having a daughter who ran her own business. He would be proud of you.”

Tears formed behind her eyelids, and Mandy blinked them back.

“Thanks, Mum. That means a lot.”

* * *

God, she hated the pricks that came to this club on a Saturday night. Fridays weren’t so bad, but somehow on Saturdays, every tosser in the north-west who had a bit of money walked through those doors and into her bar, and Mandy detested every single one of them. But like the good professional she was, she plastered that fake smile on her face and made sure the champagne fridge was stocked for when they wanted to flash their cash.

It had been a year now. Although she would have preferred to work in London, no jobs had been forthcoming there. She had, however, been pleasantly surprised by Manchester. There was a good vibe to the city and a great little Gay Village with plenty to keep her amused for a while. She hadn’t done too well on the sex front since she’d been here, but she didn’t have the energy for it. Dealing with death and grief had left her little enthusiasm for anything else.