A sudden loud bang made my hand jerk and lose a momentary grip on the bottle of pills. Fortunately I’d already attached the top. The noise cracked through the silence. When I looked round into the shop from behind the dividing wall, I saw the man had fallen off the chair. He had snapped off one of the legs in the process.

‘I’m terribly sorry,’ the customer said, holding up the red plastic evidence.

I hadn’t noticed how huge the man was. His hands were abnormally large; like shovels. He had a rugby player’s build, a scar across his forehead and his throat was matted with black hairs that straggled all the way up to his chin. I thought of a gorilla.

‘Oh, please don’t worry.’ I didn’t point out that the seats weren’t made for giants and that surely he could have stood for the few minutes rather than wrecking our shop floor. ‘Are you okay?’

‘I’m fine, thanks. No harm done.’ He smiled.

I handed him the pills, issuing professional instructions for usage.

‘Oh they’re not for me. They’re for my girlfriend. She’s terrible trouble sleeping.’

That was the first time I met Oliver Moreton.

But he was impossible to forget.

14

Rebecca

My flat looked sad enough at the best of times but it always seemed even more drab and shabby after I came back from Mitch’s. The bijou bedsit with its peeling paint and iced-up window panes, had only ever been intended as a temporary stopgap.

My friend Jodi had left a cheery message on the answerphone saying she’d call around at midday so we could swap presents. We’d been friends for years. She knew when I was struggling, even before I told her. At five past twelve she breezed in bringing welcome light-hearted company with her and announced we were going to the cinema.

‘I can’t. I’m going home this afternoon. I’m sorry. I’m all packed up.’

‘Forrest Gump. I’ve got the tickets. Look.’ She waved the tickets in the air. ‘It starts at two. You can catch the later train or the first one in the morning. You owe me.’

‘Owe you for what?’

‘Ignoring me since you met Mitch. I’m still your best friend. You used to talk to me. Remember?’

‘I don’t know. I’m ready for a break; get away for a few days.’

‘Things not so rosy in the love nest? Go on. It’ll do you good. We can catch up.’

Jodi made herself at home, filled up the kettle and rinsed through a couple of mugs. While I vacuumed the lounge, my visitor turned on the television and lay out on the sofa. She wasn’t going anywhere.

‘Oh, why not? I’ll get up early and go in the morning. It’ll do me good to do something different.’