On the previous morning, as she’d packed her bag in readiness for the sleepovers, Gareth had teased her about her new boyfriend. ‘I just didn’t realize you and him were, y’know …’

‘We’re not.’

‘Yet …?’ He grinned.

Judith zipped up her bag and looked at her watch. ‘Anyway, I better get on, still got a few presents to wrap … I’ve left yours under the tree,’ she said. ‘It’s nothing special.’ And she wasn’t lying. What should she buy the boyfriend of her best friend, who she wouldn’t normally buy anything for, but felt obliged to because they’d both been unexpectedly thrown together as flatmates? She’d settled for socks. And a king-size Toblerone.

‘Got me anything nice then, Judi-moo?’ It was an innocent, playful remark, but it stopped her in her tracks.

‘What d’you call me?’ she stammered.

‘Judi-moo …’ His smile faltered. ‘Sorry, I was only messin’ …’

‘No, it’s fine. It’s just that’s what my dad used to call me.’

‘Never! Great minds, eh?!’ he replied, trying to make light. ‘You must’ve told me that sometime, I suppose.’

‘No. No, I didn’t.’ And she smiled. ‘But it’s fine. I don’t mind.’

‘Here y’go!’ he said, disturbing her reverie and handing her a large, badly wrapped box. ‘You may as well open it now. Save you carrying it round everywhere.’

She stood gawping, completely blindsided.

‘Go on then, you fool!’ he said with a grin.

She did as she was told, ripping off the cheap paper, getting ready to laugh at some daft present he’d bought her.

Except the gift inside was far from daft.

‘It’s secondhand, but it’s a good one. And the guy said any problems you can take it back and he’ll sort it.’

Judith was lost for words. She opened up the box, removed the polystyrene packing and gently lifted out the contents: an Olympus OM10 camera, cold and weighty in her hands, accompanied by a proper leather case and strap.

‘There’s a couple of films in there too. Get you started.’

Judith kept looking down. She knew if she looked up, or if she spoke, she would cry. The camera was beautiful. But that’s not what touched her, not even the generosity of such a gift – despite it being secondhand, it would not have been cheap. No, it was the thoughtfulness that had gone into choosing it – thinking about something that she would have loved.

A little thrown by Judith’s lack of response, Gareth carried on, ‘Lana mentioned you used to take photos. But your camera got nicked on a ferry or something?’

Judith nodded. It was all she could manage, focusing all her energy on handling the camera in her hands, feeling its heft and textures and the craftsmanship that had gone into this small yet substantial apparatus. But no matter how hard she blinked, she couldn’t hold back the tears.

‘It’s from Lana too, by the way,’ he added, unaware that she was crying. ‘Not that she’s seen it, just said she’d go halves, like – Hey! You all right, mate?’