The day came. Francesco helped her move her things from the flat, and she thought, maybe naively, that he really was going to ask to come with her. It had been the best three weeks of her life before Uncle David’s heart attack, and then in the blink of an eye it had become a sort of waking nightmare in which the man who’d parented her was sick, her sister was unavoidably heading to the other side of the world again, Eric had missed his own birthday party and a man she really bloody fancied was a man she couldn’t now be with. If they’d been together only the tiniest bit longer – six weeks, say, or three months – then she’d have asked him. She would have said, ‘This is crazy, and I know it is, but: do you want an adventure?’

After they’d packed the car together, she opened the driver’s door and climbed in. Slamming it shut and starting the engine she could see Francesco and how sad he looked, and part of her thought he was going to do it. That he was going to say, ‘Penny, let me come with you.’

He didn’t though. He didn’t say anything. She wound the window down and croaked, ‘Everything is going to be fine.’ She wiped at her eyes. She hadn’t noticed when she’d started to cry. ‘Tell me it’s all going to be fine.’

‘It’s all going to be fine,’ Francesco said, smiling.

Her phone beeped. It was Sharon. I love you, brave friend, it said. Penny didn’t reply.

Stuart blew a kiss to her from beside Francesco and said, ‘Drive safe, and text when you get there, okay?’

‘I will,’ she said. ‘I promise.’

Her gaze shifted to Francesco. ‘See you,’ she said.

Francesco raised a hand. ‘See you,’ he replied.

Penny pulled away from the kerb, heading slowly up the high street. She turned the corner and waited with her blinker on to pull out onto the main road. The traffic felt endless. She sat with tears now flowing freely only realizing she’d stopped the bravado of being strong when one dropped from her chin onto her hand, which she then saw was shaking. Moving this way, leaving everything behind – she’d had no choice. That’s what she told herself. Uncle David was her world, he was the only family she had left besides her sister, and if this is what he needed from her then this is what she had to do.

But at the same time, visions of Francesco doing it alongside her flashed through her mind.

The realization came. She didn’t know the details, but she needed to go back. It wasn’t like he was happy at his job, anyway – right?