That was how Marcus had pitched the invitation, which had arrived along with effusive exclamations of gratitude at being relieved of the burden of his aunt’s pet. Esther had replied with a thanks-but-no-thanks, keeping it jolly, by way of a mask for the fact that she was still too preoccupied with her new discoveries about Dylan to feel jolly about anything. She wanted Viv, as usual, but couldn’t yet muster the wherewithal even to compose one of her emails, or ‘status reports’, as she had taken to calling them in the subject box. Marcus had tried again later in the evening, by which time Esther had been greatly cheered by an email from Shona, saying she had a window of time to herself the following Sunday, and what about a restaurant lunch?

So no can do

Esther had told Marcus, surprised when he had merely pushed back harder.

Why not ask your friend to make it tea at the St Pancras Hotel instead? Then you can have the best of all worlds. No accommodation costs this end and tickets at bargain prices.

He had sent a couple of links, to the hotel’s impressive tea menu and viable train departure and arrival times, signing it,

Whistle-stop Expert. (And it would be nice to see you).

Who knew adopting a cat could generate such fringe benefits?!

Esther had countered, after Shona, delighted by the reason, had agreed to the rejigging, instructing her to have a reckless and carefree time.

‘Well, I must say, I like this not-seeing-each-other-much.’ They were out of the gallery and seated in the café Marcus had been raving about, sipping lattes and plunging forks into a shared fat wedge of apple torte oozing molten fruit.

‘Me too.’ Marcus playfully tapped her fork with his as it edged across the middle of the plate. ‘Boundaries. That is what we are good at. Well, some of us, anyway.’

‘Yeah, right.’ Esther laughed, relishing how nothing felt at stake, because nothing was at stake. For all her physical exhaustion, this hare-brained, unlooked-for time-out was having exactly the restorative effect she had hoped for. The world, with its worries – Dylan, Lucas, Lily – could wait for once. It wasn’t going anywhere, and neither was she. In the meantime, the trick was to enjoy the moment, to be present, as Marcus had explained in a bit of a soapbox moment during the course of their first meal out on Friday.