‘You can’t though. That’s just the thing. I know you think you can but you have no idea. You had this perfect thing with Mum and me and all you ever wanted. And you made me want that too. I got close. You tried to warn me and now you want to bail me out when it’s all gone just the way you predicted it would. I don’t want to be in your debt as well. At least the banks won’t constantly remind me that they were right all along.’

‘Is that what you think of me?’

Colin sighed. It was long and his body slumped with it. ‘No … not really. I’m under a lot of pressure. I have a lot going on. I didn’t mean … That wasn’t fair. But this is something I need to sort out myself. You’re here talking about your retirement. You need to have something behind you for that.’

‘I don’t need much. I’m hardly travelling the world or lining up luxury cars.’

‘You don’t know what you need. Once you get past Mum, who knows, you might realise there’s this whole world out there.’

‘What do you mean?’ Richard asked.

‘I mean you’ve been mooching ever since she died. It happens. You need to get past it, you need to get on with your own life. Maybe meet someone else.’

Richard suppressed his first reaction. He could feel the anger building, his heart knocking in his chest. ‘That sounds like good advice. Maybe for you too?’

‘My wife isn’t dead, OK. This is totally different.’

‘No, she isn’t. My wife is dead though, son, and I will take my time getting past that. And right now, I’m not even sure what “getting past it” means.’

Colin was shaking his head and tutting. ‘I could talk to Mum. She understood me. I can’t talk to you, I can’t make you see.’

‘Make me see? You’re the one living in your garage. How about you get your own life sorted before you start concerning yourself with mine? My wife might be dead but she gave me forty happy years – blissful. You’ll forgive me if I can’t just let go of that.’

‘Jesus! She’s gone, you know that, right? And there you go again, reminding me of how you got it right.’

Richard stood up from the stool. ‘I’ll go. Dropping in uninvited was obviously a mistake. I had something I wanted to talk to you about but I should know I need to wait for the invite. How long will that take? A year, eighteen months?’

Colin didn’t reply. Richard made for his grandson and Thomas threw his headphones off to grip him tight in a hug.

‘You’re leaving already?’ Thomas whined.