When she had rung him two nights earlier, she’d offered to return to Ireland. To meet him in Dublin somewhere, if Trim was too difficult. No, he’d said. She’d already come all the way from Australia. The least he could do was fly to Scotland. They talked about meeting in a hotel or a café in the city centre. It was Emmet who suggested they stay in the airport. All they needed was a table, chairs and coffee, after all.

Eliza led the way to the nearest café. They found a spare table at the back. She offered to get the drinks. He began talking as soon as she returned with their coffee.

‘My mother still isn’t taking it well, Eliza, I’m sorry. I spent two hours with her yesterday and . . .’ He hesitated. ‘She’s very angry. With you. My father. Jeannie. Me. Especially me. She says it’s my fault for introducing Jeannie into our family.’

‘I know I’m biased, but I’m glad you did,’ Eliza said.

A flash of a smile. A slight ebbing in the tension.

‘I’m not too sure where to start,’ he said. ‘I don’t know what you’d like to know about him.’

Eliza wanted to know everything. She began with the simplest of questions. ‘What was he like?’

Emmet gave it some thought. ‘When I was young? Tough. Ambitious for me. Disappointed in me.’ A pause. ‘We didn’t have an easy relationship for years. I was the oldest son. He wanted me to be a particular person. Sporty. Community-minded. A copy of him. He didn’t leave a lot of space for me to decide what I wanted for myself. Not until after Australia. Everything changed after that. A near-death experience is vastly underrated by family counsellors.’ Another quick smile.

‘Did you always feel loved?’ She’d never have imagined asking such a personal question. But this wasn’t a normal conversation.

‘Before the accident, it didn’t occur to me whether I was loved or not. All I felt was stifled. Afterwards . . .’ Another pause. ‘Afterwards, I knew it because he’d tell me, all the time. Not just in Australia. When I was back home, recovering. He drove me to every rehab appointment. He was different with my brothers from then on too. More affectionate. Less strict. He encouraged them to leave Ireland, spread their wings. We never doubted his love. He told us all, right until the day he died.’

‘You didn’t have any idea about him and my mother? Until this week?’

‘It was as big a shock to me as it was to you, I’m sure. I’m still trying to take it in. Trying to imagine how it happened, even though that’s the last thing I want to do.’

She felt the same.