Rob gave a wistful smile and as he and Penny continued to reminisce, Elle felt suddenly that she had missed out on something precious, something that wasn’t replaceable. She felt bereft, at the whole day, but also at how everyone was treating her like a stranger, almost. At the graveyard, old school friends and past acquaintances had come up to give their condolences, and while they all hugged and exchanged memories with Penny, they simply nodded and formally shook hands with Elle, as if she was an outsider. Then again, she supposed she was.

‘. . . repairs,’ Penny was saying and Elle guessed she must be talking to Rob about something concerning the hotel. His family’s construction business had been one of the reasons he’d decided to remain in town, and as far as she knew he was still in the same line of work. ‘Would be great to get your opinion.’

‘Don’t worry about that, Penny,’ a miffed Elle found herself saying, ‘I know someone eminently qualified to drag this place into the right century.’

Though she’d intended for this to sound reassuring, she realised that it actually sounded patronising, and feeling again like a fish out of water, Elle turned and left Penny and Rob to their silly chat about times they’d had in this small little town, while she was off doing something that was actually important.

The next morning, Elle badly needed coffee. It was the only thing that would truly ready her for the trials of the day. She’d had a terrible sleep, kept awake by the creaks of the building and the old rickety bed, not to mention thoughts of what she’d said to Rob and Penny. She kept seeing her sister’s crushed expression and Rob’s coldly amused one as she’d tumbled into a dream-ridden, restless sleep.

Coffee was one of Elle’s long-held grumbles about the hotel: there was no modern Italian coffee machine, just an old sputtering coffee urn on the end of the breakfast buffet table. What few guests there were today sat by the windows overlooking the sea, which the wind was whipping into a fury. Despite being springtime in Mulberry Bay, it definitely wasn’t yet beach or swimming weather.

Elle despaired of the breakfast options, too. Good, hearty Irish fried fare of bacon, eggs and black pudding, fine in its own way, and locally sourced, but no vegetarian options, no dairy or gluten free, nothing at all for the health conscious.

Honestly, it was like perusing a menu from the seventies. An artefact. She slapped together a quick bacon sandwich and took it with her coffee outside, in spite of the threatening weather. She didn’t want to sit in there like a guest. There was no sign of Penny or her father. She had barely seen Ned since the funeral. He was holing away somewhere, listening to his precious music, no doubt, and hiding from his feelings.