‘I sold the business,’ said Terry. ‘I didn’t want to, but I said to my wife, “I can’t half do the job. I can’t stand by whilst some fruitcake runs it badly.” She said, “Sell it, then.” And, well – that was the best advice I ever had, and the best advice I ever took. We were lucky again. The recession hadn’t hit, and I had two separate buyers bidding in the end. I walked away with… I won’t tell you what I walked away with. Let’s just say that heart attack was probably the best thing that ever happened to me, in every possible way. It enabled me… Listen to this. It actually enabled me to find other things to do, so I could live my life. Because that’s what I was frightened of, and that’s what the wife said. “He’ll die of boredom.” She said that to my son, who was… he was still at college. Do you know what I said? I said, “I’m going to buy a boat.” And that made them laugh.’

‘A boat?’ said Michael, by accident.

He couldn’t stop himself.

‘Like a narrowboat, or a sailing boat—?’

‘That’s where I’m off to this weekend.’

‘What kind of boat did you buy?’

The man laughed, and Michael didn’t want to know.

‘The reason they didn’t take me seriously was because they knew I got seasick. We’d been on a cruise, and I’d hated it! Hated it. But I said, “I am going to get on the water and learn.” We’ve got an apartment now, in that new Bristol Marina – not a big one, but oh-my-goodness. It looks right over the water, and you just sit on the terrace and… it’s a pageant.’

Michael nodded, and saw Terry in his coffin again – floating, this time.

‘I never get tired of it,’ he said. ‘Boats coming in, yachts going out. Ours is moored where we can actually see it, and there’s people around to chat to. Interesting people, retired, a lot of them. Decent folk. I’ve got to get the hull checked over, so we’re dry-docking her for a couple of weeks. Then… I don’t know.’

‘The world’s your oyster.’

‘Well…’

‘You can go anywhere. Where will you go?’

Why had he asked another question? What compulsion was it, when all he wanted to know was how many people might come to Terry’s funeral? How many actual friends did he have? And would the decent people from Bristol Marina be there, because they had come to love Terry like a brother? How many pews would he need, because Michael’s would be a quick, quiet affair and cars would not be necessary. They would burn him early in the morning: the later slots were more expensive, and harder to book.