‘You hate your job,’ said Emily.

‘You hate your job,’ said Grace.

‘Maybe so, but it pays okay and keeps us ticking over.’

‘The pay is crap and it’s not as if you couldn’t get a job in the law down here,’ said Emily.

‘She’s right. There’s a lot of law down here,’ said Grace. ‘You can feel the legal opportunities in your bones.’

‘Maybe, maybe not,’ I replied. ‘Even so, I don’t think I could bear to leave Grace alone on that estate. We rely on each other; it just wouldn’t be fair.’

‘Grace could move down too. She could look after the IT and update the systems,’ said Emily.

‘Systems have to be updated, Gary, that’s just a fact of life,’ added Grace.

‘And would you want to move down here, Grace?’ I asked her.

‘In the blink of an eye,’ she replied. ‘Did you know that my daughter lives just a few miles away, in Lewes. Maybe you could help me to get contact with my granddaughter – oh, and I could get my hip operation done here. What a lovely place to recuperate…’

I was feeling slightly ambushed.

‘I thought you were loving it in Peckham,’ I said to Emily. ‘Sharing the flat together, working in the coffee shop with Wayne, having a drink in the Grove, going to the markets on the weekend…’

‘I do love it, but it’s your life, Gary. I sometimes feel like I’ve just tagged myself onto it and am just enjoying the ride until we run out of steam,’ replied Emily, with a surprisingly earnest look about her face.

‘That’s what always happens with his girlfriends. He’s admitted that to me many times,’ added Grace with a surprisingly self-satisfied look on her face.

‘This would be for us, Gary, a great big daft adventure with all sorts of possibilities.’

‘Yeah, we could go bankrupt and end up on the streets scavenging like these seagulls.’

‘So what? They seem very happy,’ said Emily.

‘Have you two been talking about this behind my back?’

‘No,’ they both said in unison.

The conversation took a rest as we all tucked into our ice creams. There was a lot to think about for sure. Eventually, Emily broke the silence.

‘Grace, are you still annoyed with me for ruining your trouser suit?’

‘Don’t be daft,’ replied Grace. ‘I was never upset with you.’ She pointed her cone at me and continued, ‘It was his fault. He should have finished that bloke off when he had the chance. He is such a shithouse.’

‘Isn’t he, though?’ added Emily.

They both laughed and Lassoo wagged his tail so hard it seemed he was trying to propel himself into the future.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you to my editor, Holly Harris, for her support, invaluable feedback and encouragement.