We sat quietly for a few minutes, finishing our breakfast and soaking up the sun.

‘Right,’ I sighed, as I stood up and brushed the sand off my legs, ‘I’d better get going.’

It was time to leave the lovebirds in peace and face my fears.

‘Got any plans?’ Sam asked, squinting up at me.

‘Just the one,’ I told him. ‘I need to make a quick phone call.’

At least I hoped it would be quick.

‘I need to tell my boss why I won’t be showing up at work for the next few weeks.’

‘I had kind of assumed that you were self-employed,’ said Sam, ‘as you’ve decided to take so long off.’

‘No,’ I said, ‘afraid not.’

‘So, what is it that you do, Tess?’ he asked.

‘Obvious, isn’t it?’ Hope cut in. ‘She’s the ultimate party planner. She’s most likely got A-listers across the globe clamouring for her attention. Am I right?’

‘Ha,’ I said, ‘not quite.’

‘Will your boss be pissed off that you aren’t going back?’ said Sam.

‘Yes,’ I breathed, ‘just a bit.’

‘In that case,’ said Hope, ‘you’d better come back to the pub later. You might need a pick-me-up.’

‘Thanks,’ I said. ‘I’m probably going to need something.’

*

The dreaded call went every bit as badly as expected, helped in no small part by the fact that I had to wait so long to make it after I had turned my phone on. I had almost reached the point of thinking that it was never going to stop pinging, buzzing and announcing messages, mails and notifications, when it finally stopped and the cottage fell silent again.

I plugged in the charging cable and stared at the screen, wondering whether I should first read some of what had been sent in order to gauge the reaction I was likely to get, but then decided against it. There was precious little signal in the cottage as it was, so I wasn’t going to risk losing it by trawling through Dad’s many messages.

With a heavy heart, I dialled the number of the house phone. Even if Joan answered, I was going to have to ask for Dad. My feelings towards him might have changed since I’d started reading Mum’s diary, but he was my boss as well as my father and therefore entitled to a first-hand explanation about my prolonged absence from work.

‘Tess,’ he said, sounding a little breathless when he answered after the second ring. ‘I was hoping you were going to call.’

That was something, I supposed.

‘Are you back?’ he asked. ‘I’ll come around.’

That put me on the back foot a bit. He never came to the apartment.

‘No,’ I said. ‘No, I’m not back.’

‘Still travelling, are you? Well, I need to bring you up to speed. You could call in here? That would be easier.’