He leans forward to take a closer look. “I remember taking this picture,” he says. “It was the week after my birthday and the camera was a present—one of those cheap disposable things. She was walking me to school.” He clears his throat. “That was when we talked the most, when she escaped the house. And my dad.”

It’s the first time he’s mentioned his father in ages and I wonder whether now might be a good time to suggest a visit. Surely it’s time the two of them made their peace. I don’t care if he is the cantankerous old bully Ross says he is. He’s still Ross’s dad. And he’s in a nursing home now.

“About your dad,” I say, but before I can finish my sentence he’s shaking his head and reaching for his briefcase.

“I know what you’re going to say, Lizzie, but you don’t know what he’s like. He made Mum’s life a misery. And mine.” He pulls out an overstuffed buff folder and plonks it on the desk.

“I tried to persuade him to move nearer London, but he insisted on staying in Aberdeen. There’s no way I’m trekking all the way up there to sit and listen to his self-pitying rants.”

He breaks into an impersonation of his father. “Ah dinnae wantae die in Englan.”

I can’t help smiling. Most of the time I forget about Ross’s Scottish roots. He’s lived in England so long he’s lost most of his accent. I only hear traces of it now when he’s watching Aberdeen play Rangers.

“Isn’t he lonely, up there on his own?”

Ross gives one of those sneering laughs through his teeth. “The Jim Murrays of this world are never short of companions. Other blokes talking shite.” He takes a deep breath. “It’s real friends and family they can’t keep hold of.”

He opens his diary and his face crumples. “Shit!”

“What’s the matter?”

“I asked Gloria if I could have a meeting with her about the partnership position yesterday then forgot all about it.”

Gloria Williams is the senior partner at Plumtree Lodge. If Ross is to stand any chance of being offered that partnership, he needs to keep in her good books.

“Can’t you speak to her on Monday?”

“I’ll have to, although it doesn’t look very professional, does it? Arranging a meeting then not turning up.”

It’s not like Ross to forget something like that. He must be more stressed at work than I thought.

“Would it be the end of the world if you didn’t get offered a partnership? I mean, there’s plenty of time for all that, isn’t there? And what’s wrong with being a salaried GP?”