‘Well, you haven’t told me in at least forty-five minutes.’

Penny laughed. ‘How would you feel about this bottle of red tonight? They’ve just put The Notebook on Netflix again if you want to cry like a baby with me. It’s one of my favourite pastimes. Lights out by midnight, though, otherwise I’ll be no good to anyone.’

‘I’ll bring the Minstrels,’ said Charlie.

‘Oooooh, maybe some sweet and salty popcorn too?’

‘Perfect.’

Penny ended up with a hangover from the bottle of red she’d shared with Charlie, and a margarita they’d had beforehand, too, as an aperitif. That was all it took – one cocktail and half a bottle of wine – to feel murderous the next day.

‘Well darling,’ Uncle David said. ‘That’s not exactly a small amount, is it?’

‘Oh piss off,’ Penny shot back, to which Uncle David looked hugely shocked across FaceTime, making Penny promptly burst into tears. ‘I’m sorry,’ she sniffled, pathetically. ‘I’m sorry Davvy.’

‘It’s okay darling. Are these hangover tears? Or something else?’

Penny shook her head. Uncle David looked unwell still, and it upset her. She could tell just by looking he was still weak, still not himself. She just wanted him to be better already.

‘Hangover tears,’ Penny said, hoping that that was true. She’d woken up feeling like something was sat on her chest, suffocating her. Not literally – emotionally. Maybe it was because she’d been drinking the night before, but she felt anxious about everything as she made her morning coffee and switched on the news. Anxious about Uncle David, anxious about her life, and weirdly anxious about that prick. Surely it wasn’t normal to obsess over a fling for this long, she worried. Surely she was over-dramatizing the whole thing. She hated how he could barrel into her imagination and demand her attention. She probably didn’t even cross his mind. Penny who? he’d say, if somebody asked about her.

Uncle David smiled down the camera. ‘Nice big glass of water and five minutes in the sun before service, alright jelly-belly?’

‘Yeah,’ she said.

‘And maybe get out of Havingley for a bit, if you can. I know it’s busy, but it’s important to take some time out for yourself, too, even if it’s just for an afternoon.’

‘Okay,’ acknowledged Penny. ‘Sorry to cry. I think my hormones are doing something crazy is all. I’ll ask the doctor next time I see him.’

‘I love you,’ Uncle David soothed. ‘You’re making me so, so proud. I’d be proud anyway, but. Well. You know. Thank you. I know you never really wanted to be up there, but I’m grateful you are.’

‘It’s okay. I love you too,’ Penny said. ‘Tell Eric I love him as well.’

‘Will do darling. Have a good day, okay?’