It wasn’t signed but because of the velveteen and duck references I instantly knew it was from Emily and that the meeting place was the Grove Tavern. I was so excited by the prospect that I decided to have a bath. I have always preferred a bath to a shower – much more of a sense of occasion and indulgence. I’m drawn to its quiet warmth whenever I am either under stress or joyful with anticipation. Given the events of today I suppose it was a twin-purpose grief and euphoria tub session. I made it into a forty-minute experience, shaving my face, ears and shoulders, cleaning between my toes, topping up with hot water every time the temperature faded, cleaning under my nails, reading the ingredients of my shampoo and toothpaste, squeezing the blackheads on my nose, cleaning the sealant between the bath and the wall, floating the cap from the shower gel on the surface and then sinking it by spitting a stream of bath water from my mouth, lying slowly down to gradually fill my eye sockets with water, polishing my kneecaps with shaving foam, shining the taps with my big toe, throwing the soap up in the air then dipping my head underwater to hear its re-entry into the swill and making spirals from my chest hair so that it resembled a Mediterranean garden. It was a good bath and a welcome break.

It occurred to me that Emily had never seen me in any outfit other than my shitty work suit. My go-to smart outfit was a blue shirt, mid-brown corduroy jacket and a pair of slim-fit blue jeans from Tesco. The problem was that my jeans had the inconvenient dried saliva stains from Lassoo’s dribblings. I washed the affected area with water and soap in the bathroom sink. They emerged wetter than I’d hoped so I turned up the bedroom radiator and placed them on it to dry. Just before leaving for the pub I sprayed some cologne on my neck and the front of my jacket. The cologne was a Christmas gift from Grace that I had never had the occasion to use. It was called ‘Electricity’ by Sebastian Longcoq. I suspect she bought it from the local corner shop. Its aroma reminded me of a ripe banana with a hint of hot concrete. I should have tested it out on a sock before committing, but no matter, I reckoned it would fade quickly on account of its cheapness. The jeans didn’t dry completely but they would be fine by the time I got to the pub.