‘God, it’s so busy! This is the first chance I’ve had to call – I’ve got a quick break for lunch. I can see why they needed me here. I haven’t had a moment to myself since I landed. It’s all been, “meet this person; meet that person”.’

‘It’s good to be busy. Where are you staying?’

‘I’m in a company flat in the financial district, close to the office in Lower Manhattan.’

‘Sounds very you,’ I said. Grace shifted in her chair and looked pointedly at me and then at the television. I slipped out of the room.

‘It’s a luxury high-rise,’ Rohan was saying, ‘the antithesis of our house, obv, but I think you’d like it.’

‘Hmm.’

‘It’s got these amazing floor-to-ceiling windows that face Brooklyn Bridge. If you were here, you’d sit there all day just staring at the view – I know I would if I had the chance. You’d paint it, for sure – and, get this! Even the bathroom has windows that overlook the East River. I look out at that when I go for a shit!’

‘Charming!’

There was a swimming pool, too, he told me, and a load of sporting facilities, a roof terrace and even a private cinema.

‘Not that I’ll get to use it. But you know what? It’s actually really nice to be in an apartment. I love being high up – I really like the bird’s-eye view of the city.’

‘And you finally got to live somewhere brand new, too,’ I said.

Rohan laughed. ‘Yep. Mum would be proud.’

‘Speaking of which,’ I said, ‘she came over this morning…’

‘Oh really?’ he said, his voice cautious. ‘What did she want?’

‘Checking I was okay on my own…’

‘Aka checking up on you!’ Rohan said, with a little laugh because we both knew it was true. ‘But Grace’s with you, isn’t she? Did she arrive okay? How’s that going?’

‘Oh… good,’ I said, looking back towards the living-room door, trying to judge whether or not she could hear me. There was a burst of laughter from inside the room – she must have put Cold Feet back on.

‘Yeah, it’s nice to see her,’ I said carefully. ‘She’s changed a bit.’

‘Well – it’s been four years, to be fair, and she’ll have had a lot of new experiences in Oz.’

‘I know, but…’

‘In what way?’ he said, and out came the story of the roast chicken and the fancy organic, pescatarian diet.

‘She could have told you before you went to all that trouble,’ Rohan said. ‘How difficult would that have been?’