“Oh yes, that would be fantastic . . .” she said to me, eyes full of gratitude.

Her brother intervened immediately, to explain that unfortunately they had no way of paying for it. Their two families would be staying in Paris that summer and they would take it in turns at their parents’ bedside.

“We’re completely skint. My father’s pension barely covers half his expenses, and as for my mother, it’s all coming out of our pockets. We spend our time counting our money. We asked them about applying for guardianship, but everybody tells us it’s a white elephant . . . over-complicated and not worth the effort. First you have to wait a year to get it before a judge and once the decision is made, the accounts are blocked and you can’t withdraw another cent for months except with a judge’s authorization which you never get either because the judge is over-worked or he’s away on holiday.”

“So what are you meant to do? Fake your parents’ signature to withdraw their pension money from their accounts?”

“Precisely.”

“You know, we’re all in the same boat . . .”

“We need at least 10,000 euros a month to cover all the costs. It’s huge. The notary advised us to sell their apartment for a life annuity and then bank the income in our accounts. We’ve been advertising for six months now, but nobody’s interested in such an expensive annuity transaction. It won’t be long before I have to sell my own apartment to pay for this damned aged care facility.”

“Where’s your parents’ apartment?”

“On Rue Monge. A three-room place with 72 squares.”

“Actually, you know, I might be interested! I’ll be straight with you: as long as the initial capital payment is very small, I’m prepared to pay you what you need as a monthly annuity.”

Hope was dawning in their eyes.

“You could take on an extra full-time aide for the two of them and then take it in turns between you so one of you, at least, can have a holiday . . . But your parents will have to sign the contract in front of a notary, and all that . . .”

“Our notary is willing to go into nursing homes and get old people to sign things — no matter what condition they’re in — provided there’s no chance of anyone suing. We’re the only two children and you only have to look at our parents to see they’re never coming out of here.”

“As I said, I’m interested.”

“You do realize you’d be saving our lives?”