I gathered up my notebook. “Well, not all of us have been kept on by Clarity Newspapers.” As soon as I made the clumsy remark, I regretted it. Frances’s cheeks flared and she dropped her eyes.

“I’m sorry. Really. I didn’t mean for it to come out that way.”

“No need to apologise. It’s true.”

She lingered for a few moments by the edge of my desk. “If there’s anything you want me to help you with, either story-wise or maybe asking around about other jobs, you just have to say the word. I mean it.”

“Thanks. I might take you up on that.”

Doug had already left for the evening, having been invited to some local author’s latest novel launch at the bookshop.

I locked up the office and made my way round the corner to my Skoda. I’d had the idea of dropping by Merry Wood again this evening, after Frances’s encouragement and so had already texted my parents, telling them I’d be a bit later home tonight to collect Harley. Mum replied, saying not to worry as she would feed her and take her for a play in the garden. “I bought her a new toy from the pet shop this morning,” she messaged. “It’s a rope puppy and she went berserk when she saw it!”

I smiled to myself as I fired up my ignition and began to move off. Mum was always buying Harley treats. Good grief! If she was like this with a ten-month-old puppy, goodness knows what that would be like with grandchildren!

I glanced in my rear-view mirror. My eyebrows shot upwards at the thought. I couldn’t have imagined having kids with Miles. Not now anyway. As it turned out, he was far too much of a selfish prick. He thought nothing of letting me down at the last minute for a news story when we were together and if I dared to say I was upset, he would accuse me of not being ambitious like he was.

That wasn’t true. It was just I loved him far more than he ever loved me and I was prepared to put our relationship first. The last I heard about him was a couple of months ago in one of the media magazines Doug subscribed to. He was mentioned in the Movers n’ Shaker’s section, after having been promoted to News Editor at a regional TV station in the Midlands.

We had met when he was working as a news reporter on Musicala Radio, a regional station. Frances had introduced us when she held one of her house parties. I think she’s never forgiven herself for the fact that she got us together in the first place.