‘It was less…’ Brody fidgeted in his chair, ‘dramatic.’ And then, before she could probe any further, he headed her off at the pass. ‘So, what do you think is going to come out of this “moment”? What is going to change going forwards?’

She sighed. ‘I don’t know. All I know is that sometimes I feel happy and scared, hopeful and overwhelmed all at once. There might be light in my future instead of just darkness, but for some reason I find that slightly terrifying too.’

Brody smiled. She’d put it so well. ‘Isn’t that what life is about?’

‘I suppose it is…’ She paused, and he could tell she was thinking about something. ‘You’re right – I should make some changes going forwards, and as we’ve been talking I’ve realized one of those things is my job. Gabi said something a couple of months ago about me not loving it and I didn’t really take on board what she was saying.’

‘You’re going to look for a new job?’

‘Yes,’ she said, sounding very certain.

‘What kind of job?’

She laughed. ‘That’s the whole problem! I think I’ve worked out that I don’t want my current job, but I have no idea what I want to do instead. I suppose I’m just going to have a look at what’s available and see if anything sparks my interest.’

‘It’s a start.’

‘Yes,’ she said again, still sounding so sure and confident – so different from how she’d come across when he’d first heard her voice on the other end of the line on New Year’s Eve.

When they finally ended their conversation, Brody couldn’t stop thinking about that, about how much Anna had changed, how much progress she’d made.

Whereas, all you’re doing is treading water, the little goading voice in his head said. Stagnating. You’re full of good advice when it comes to Anna but where is all that wisdom when it comes to your own life?

He glanced across at the book sitting on his desk, the one about panic and agoraphobia. He’d been trying to do everything it said for a couple of months now and it really wasn’t working, was it? Maybe this wasn’t something he could do on his own. But he supposed he’d got so used to doing everything on his own, that it hadn’t occurred to him to try a different route.

So what are you going to do, huh? Are you going to be brave, like Anna is being brave, or are you going to sit there and fester in that armchair until you become part of it?

That, thought Brody, was a very good question.

Part Two

Chapter Twenty-Seven

AS SUMMER EBBED away slowly, blessing the beginning of September with warm days and crisp skies, Anna pondered her conversations with both Brody and Gabi. What did she want her life to be like? She turned the idea over and over in her head, looking at it from every angle, but got no closer to an answer.