‘How about lunch back at mine in an hour? I’ll text Amanda and see if she wants to join us,’ I suggest to Sadie as we leave the class. Nervous, the words tumble out, leaving me slightly breathless. I’ve never invited Sadie to do anything with me before, aware as I am that she was Caro’s friend, but I’m not quite ready to be on my own yet today, and the idea of stepping through the front door knowing that I have company for the afternoon gives me a lift.

‘Oh. That sounds… lovely. OK,’ Sadie says, as if surprised that I would want to have lunch with her. Surprised, and pleased, I think. ‘I’ll give you a bit of time to freshen up, shall I?’ She casts her eye over me, and I am aware of my sweaty hairline, and the way my T-shirt sticks to my back and shoulders.

I hurry past the line of cabs waiting for their next fare, opting to walk instead. I still can’t get used to the idea of jumping in a cab for a ten-minute journey, when I could walk home and take in the beauty of where I find myself living now. I’ve never lived in a village before, and I still get a little shiver of glee as I walk through the main street, shaded by trees, giving little nods to the postman, the woman who works in the local shop. Feeling as though they recognize me as one of them, as though I belong, at last. My smile soon fades as I catch sight of my reflection in the shop window, my face pink and flushed, and I hope that Sadie gives me enough time to spruce myself up properly before she arrives.

The house is still and empty when I let myself in, dust motes swirling as I step towards the stairs. There is a faint scent of something I can’t quite place in the air, something sweet and floral. All things I still can’t quite get used to. The flat was always noisy, whether Mags was home or not, thanks to the constant buzz of traffic and the banging and shouting of the takeaway guys downstairs, and it never smelled fresh – a combination of kebab meat and Mags’s constant weed-smoking made sure of that.