Tony put down his paper. ‘It was good to see you, Mum. I’m glad you dropped by.’

Jill reached into her bag and pulled out her purse. ‘How about this one is on me?’ she said.

‘Absolutely not,’ said Tony. ‘We’ve got this.’

Andrea was relieved that Tony was redeeming himself. She stood up with Jill. ‘I’ll walk you back to your car,’ she said. ‘Leave Tony to have his coffee.’

They walked back towards the apartment block in silence, until Andrea said carefully, ‘Jill, how are you, really? I know it must be so hard with the anniversary coming up. I’m sorry we weren’t better company for you just now.’

Jill looked sideways at Andrea. ‘You’re very kind,’ she said, ‘but I’m okay. You two were lovely company.’

Andrea scoffed. ‘No, we weren’t. I was distracted and Tony read the bloody paper! I often want to talk with you about Frank . . . I want to tell you that I miss him. I know I didn’t know him very long, but I really did think he was a wonderful man. I’m never sure if I should . . .’

Jill stopped, turned and pulled Andrea into a quick but tight hug. ‘Thank you,’ she said. When she stepped back, her eyes were glassy. ‘You know those boxes I needed put up into the roof?’

Andrea nodded.

‘I’d finally packed up some of Frank’s things, but I couldn’t bring myself to give them away. Isn’t that silly? Putting them away as though he might come back and need them again, one day. I feel like a fool.’

‘Jill, I would never call you a fool. I think that’s absolutely understandable. You should keep Frank’s things for as long as you want.’

They started walking again. ‘How about you?’ said Jill. ‘What was keeping you distracted today?’

Andrea pushed her hands into her back pockets and looked away, thinking. Next thing, the words had tumbled out before she could stop herself. ‘Do you think Tony would be likely to change his mind about having kids?’

The shock on Jill’s face was evident, and then it immediately turned to sympathy. ‘I’d wondered who was behind the decision to stay child-free.’

Now it was Andrea’s turn to be surprised. ‘He’s never spoken about it with you?’

‘No. I guess I tried to ask . . . back when you two first met and it looked like you were becoming serious. But he rebuffed me. And then it seemed like it was a decision you were both happy with.’ She paused. When she spoke again, her voice was kind. ‘Have you changed your mind?’

‘I don’t even know,’ said Andrea. ‘Sorry, I shouldn’t be asking you about this. I’m putting you in a difficult position.’