Chloe times her arrival at Park House for just after the staff have finished clearing away lunch.

‘Hello, Chloe, we haven’t seen you in a while,’ says one of the care assistants as they buzz her in.

‘Yeah, I know. Work.’ She shrugs her shoulders and the woman nods like she understands.

‘Sometimes it’s hard to fit it all in, isn’t it?’ she says, throwing a tea towel casually over her arm. It’s a generic line Chloe is sure she’s used to rolling out here, but she nods as if it was meant especially for her.

‘Is Nan around?’ she asks.

‘Yes, she’s in her room, I think, but she usually has a nap after lunch.’

‘Oh,’ Chloe says.

‘Pop along anyway, she wouldn’t want to miss you.’

‘Thanks, yeah,’ Chloe replies. But she has no intention of waking Nan up.

Her door is closed when Chloe arrives at it. She doesn’t knock. Instead she lingers for a while in the corridor, wasting a few moments looking at the watercolours of bland fields that line the walls, the same kind you’d see in any care home. What is so attractive about this one-size-fits-all approach? As if people find safety in keeping things the same. It’s always been the opposite for her.

Chloe lets a few more minutes pass before she takes the circular corridor back round to the office.

‘No luck?’ the same carer says.

Chloe sighs. ‘Never mind. Will you let her know I popped by?’

‘Of course, no problem at all. Just sorry you had a wasted journey.’

Chloe heads out through the double doors. It’s a sunny day. Spring is starting to coax daffodils to reveal their faces and birds flit here and there happily. Chloe takes the short path around the back of Park House into Ferry Meadows. She comforts herself with the fact that at least she has tried to see Nan today.

Nan had recovered quickly after her fall, and Miriam had assured Chloe on the phone that what she needed was more rest, not to be exhausted with visitors. At least that’s how Chloe had interpreted it. Although, in truth, she only has one visitor, and that is her. But Chloe knows Nan finds it tiring to have someone sitting there, prodding at her with 2004 when she’s far happier back in the fifties with Stella. She’ll leave her there for another day – after all, she’s not hurting anyone.