She laughed and I noticed that she wasn’t wearing any makeup. It suited her perfectly. Her skin was radiant enough without any enhancement. Her fringe was still as straight as a die with its Chappaquiddick curl at one end and a little kink where it fell over the ears. Her eyes were still friendly and kind and her little button nose in perfect alignment with its surroundings – so much so I felt compelled to comment:

‘Your nose is looking excellent. Is it something you appreciate yourself?’

‘Get out of here. I hate it; makes me look like a hedgehog. Your nose is on the big side, but it suits you. Have you got a cold by the way? It’s very red.’

‘No, I was just doing a bit of blackhead gardening in the bath and as usual I went at it a bit too aggressively. Do you want to get something to eat? The steak and chips I had here last time were very satisfactory.’

‘Yeah, that would be great. I’m starving. Only problem is I haven’t got enough cash on me to pay for anything.’

‘No worries. It will be my treat on account of it being lovely to see you. So, how are you doing?’

‘To be honest, not great actually. I left my boyfriend and my flat a couple of days ago and it’s been tough.’

I didn’t know whether to mention that I had already been informed of her departure or whether to tell her that I had already doubted if it was in fact true.

‘Wow, that’s quite the upheaval. You must be feeling pretty jittery. To be honest I wasn’t absolutely sure that you even had a boyfriend. I think the term you used was “nothing official”.’

‘Well, I’m officially single now, for the first time in years. I thought it would feel liberating but it just feels sad and a bit shit.’

‘I think that’s to be expected. You just need time and distance and plenty of booze.’

‘Are you speaking from experience? Have you walked out on someone before?’

‘No, they always walk out on me, but I imagine the principles are the same. Do you still have feelings for him?’

‘Do you know what? I’m hoping that I don’t, and I have to say that since the moment I walked out of the door I’ve only thought of myself. That’s a good thing, don’t you think?’

‘Yes, I do, bang on the money.’

I took a little kick of pleasure in the fact that she had thought about someone else, and that person was me. Then again, if she was still working for McCoy, she would, of course, have had to contact me. Tricky.