Mandy followed Isla across the grass to where Louisa was waiting for them at the rear of the house. She looked gorgeous, as usual. Tall and elegant in a pale blue dress, perfectly upright, and that dark slab of hair down her back. Mandy felt plump and crumpled in her presence. ‘You should have let yourself in, Lou. Door’s open.’

‘I’ve only been waiting a few minutes.’ Louisa held her arm across her forehead to block the sun. ‘I was quicker than I expected. Thanks for having her.’

‘Don’t mention it. We had a great time.’ Mandy pushed the back door open, dropped her bag on the lino and switched the electric fan on, more for Louisa’s benefit than her own. ‘Come in and I’ll fix you a drink. You look like you need a pick-me-up. I know I do.’

Louisa took a coaster from the kitchen table and fanned herself. ‘Sounds wonderful.’

She seemed nervy, smiling too brightly, Mandy thought. She tried to catch her eye, but Louisa sat down at the table and stared out at the yard, kicking her long legs out in front of her. The sun was pulling back behind the house, and Isla was skipping up and down, her shadow folding over the plant pots and the coil of garden hose.

‘Is anything wrong?’ Mandy asked.

‘Still can’t get used to Christmas out here,’ Louisa said, without turning round. ‘It hits me hard at this time of year, you know.’

Mandy did know. Louisa was so homesick you could feel it coming through the walls. She reminded Mandy of her mother in that way. The British accent and the pining for home, always fed up with this country. Her mum had never let up about the stinking heat, as she’d called it. Forever fanning herself and looking for the shade. Nothing had cheered that woman up like a dark bank of cloud.

Louisa turned to face her. ‘I made a down payment,’ she said, waving a fly away. ‘I went into town to make a down payment.’

‘On what?’

She glanced out at Isla in the yard. ‘Fix me that drink and I’ll tell you.’

Mandy flexed the ice tray and dropped a few cubes into each tumbler. ‘Happy New Year, Lou. Here’s to 1967.’ She knocked her glass against Louisa’s. This was her first toast to the New Year. With Steve being away she’d thought she might ignore it, but in the end she’d had a few drinks and stayed up past midnight on her own. She took a long sip of gin and wondered, was it unlucky to bring in the New Year on your own? An omen of some kind?

‘You got a new watch?’ Louisa reached for the Timex, which sat on the kitchen table, curled around the salt and pepper.

‘Got it for Christmas.’

‘It’s beautiful.’

‘D’you think?’ She felt the alcohol reach her, its welcome lift. ‘I can’t get used to it. Never had a watch before.’

Louisa wrapped it around her own wrist and fastened the buckle. She stretched her arm out to look at it, turning it back and forth. Her arm was damp with a fine sheen of sweat, Mandy noticed. Even her sweat was lovely.