Driving to work, he put the letter from his mind. His thoughts turned to the coming evening. Heather was coming over for dinner, and the conversation would undoubtedly centre on Paul. Jamie sighed. Heather and Kirsty were able to talk about the situation endlessly, but some days Jamie just wanted to try to forget about it. It made him feel weary and weak; helpless and afraid. He couldn’t admit this to the others, or they might accuse him of not caring as much as them, of being an emotionally-stilted male, unable to cope with feelings. Well, that was bullshit: he cared as much as – if not more than – anyone. It was just that some days – days like today – he felt too tired to deal with it. He wanted to get on with his life.

Kirsty wasn’t home yet when Jamie arrived back that afternoon. He took off his tie, threw it on the bed, then went to the fridge and tried to decide between beer and orange juice. The beer won out. He’d had a shitty day at work. His computer kept crashing, and then there were all the whispered rumours that something was ‘going on’. The managers and supervisors were called away to an important meeting and, when Jamie’s supervisor returned, he appeared worried and distracted, but would not be drawn on what the meeting had been about.

Cold beer. That was exactly what Jamie needed. He cracked open a can and took a deep swallow. He found a half-empty tube of Pringles in the cupboard and carried them over to his desk. A game of Mass Effect was in order, he decided. Blasting a few aliens would help to relieve the stresses of the day.

He was happily shooting `em up when Kirsty arrived home with Heather in tow. Jamie turned the Playstation off, kissed Kirsty on the lips, Heather on the cheek, and asked them if they wanted wine. Immediately, Heather started to cry.

‘Oh Jamie, you should have seen him today. I sat beside him and held his hand and it hit me: he didn’t even know I was there. I was telling him all these things – telling him about our future together – and I might as well have been talking to a plant. He looked like an empty shell. Oh God, it makes me feel so horrible saying that.’

Jamie put his arms around her. ‘He is in there, Heather, I promise you. And he will come back to us.’

She blinked at him, shedding tears that rolled down her cheeks. ‘But what if he doesn’t?’