“Keep it,” Kathleen would say, or “put it in the box.”

Sean returned, but with the news that Popeye was nowhere to be found. “He’s probably off exploring.”

Kathleen had never thought she’d find reason to envy her cat.

On the other hand if a one-eyed, three-legged cat could go exploring, why couldn’t she? There were no rules that demanded a person be in perfect condition in order to travel beyond one’s own walls.

Liza was sorting through photo albums, flicking through the pages. “There’s a lovely one here of you with Dad.” She put it to one side and picked up the next book. “This must be one of your earliest albums.” She turned a page and smiled. “Here’s your graduation photo. Look at your hair! Why haven’t I seen these before?”

“Because I tend to focus more on the present than the past.” It was Brian who had put the photos into albums. Brian who had turned their house into a home and their little trio into a family. Kathleen had taken thousands of photographs of her travels, but they were stored in boxes in her study.

“Who are these two?” Liza pointed and Kathleen walked across the room and looked over her shoulder.

Emotion lodged in her throat.

She should have destroyed the photo.

“Mum?”

“Mmm?”

“The two other people in the photo. Who are they?”

“Friends. We were all on the same course at college. The three of us were inseparable. That was taken in Oxford.”

“The guy is very good-looking. What was his name?”

“Adam.” Did her voice sound normal? “His name was Adam.”

“And the girl?”

“Ruth.” Her voice most definitely didn’t sound normal. “She was my roommate.” My closest friend.

“You’ve never mentioned her. What happened?” Liza turned the page. “Did you lose touch?”

“We—yes.” Kathleen’s legs suddenly turned wobbly and she sat down hard on the nearest chair. She thought about the letters, tied together and safely hidden in the back of one of her drawers. Unopened. “Not all friendships last.”

“And Adam? Did you stay in touch with him?”

“No.”

“But here you are again—the three of you. Do you know where Ruth is now?”

“Last time I heard she was living in California.” Kathleen felt a sudden pang.

She took the book from Liza. There was Ruth smiling at the camera, her hair falling long and loose over one shoulder. And there was Adam with those blue eyes and movie star looks.