I fetch his jacket from where he hung it over the banister and hand it to him without saying a word. Lottie and I accompany him to the door. He dips his head to kiss my cheek, but I twist out of reach, leaving him floundering. As if to make up for my coldness, Lottie hugs him hard.

‘See you Friday, kiddo,’ he says.

He opens the door, hesitating in front of the cameras, before striding down the steps and elbowing his way through the press. He’s taller than any of them. When I close the door the house releases its breath. It’s been tough since Nick went missing, but I have a feeling that my problems are about to get worse.

GRACE

Friday, 4 May 2018

TIM POURS ME A GLASS OF WINE. I TAKE IT OVER TO the table. Cora darts him a look and purses her mouth. They’ve been back since two o’clock this afternoon. He takes a seat and folds his hands in front of him. The last three days have passed by in a state of suspended numbness, but now we are gathered at my kitchen table to talk about The Situation, while Lottie is out of the way with her father.

‘Nick’s body may be found, but equally it may not,’ Tim says.

I keep my hands folded over my stomach as I listen, staring at the blank sheet of paper in front of me. Tim put it there, in case I want to make notes.

‘If that proves to be the case,’ he continues, ‘we’ll have to accept that we’ll be in legal limbo at least until the Guardianship Act becomes law.’

I’ve looked into this. The Guardianship Law allows relatives to look after the affairs of loved ones with disabilities, but the new Act will cover missing persons as well. At the moment families have to wait seven years; a horrible situation, and one that I’m beginning to feel the effects of already. I can’t talk to Nick’s bank, I can’t close down standing orders; even the utility bills are in his name. Nick set them up when he bought the house; I didn’t think to suggest they were put in both our names. I can see how much danger Lottie and I are in; how much we could lose.

Cora is speaking now. ‘But the Act has passed three readings, so it’s more than likely it’ll go through, and when that happens, Grace …’ She pauses, then says, ‘Tim and I will be applying for guardianship of Nick’s estate.’

I’m confused at first, then the penny drops. This is exactly what Douglas warned me about. ‘You are joking?’

‘Certainly not. This is extremely serious. As Nick hasn’t made a will, there’s going to be a complicated process which I hardly think you have the education to follow.’

‘Douglas will help me.’

‘Give me strength.’