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‘The big what?’

‘Triathlon The Xtre Sixtyswi was spoken about with reverence, those who had co their injuries like veterans of so his lips with anticipation I looked at ht briefly that I had preferred him when he worked in telesales and couldn’t pass a petrol station without stocking up on Mars Bars

‘You’re going to do it?’

‘Why not? I’ve never been fitter’

I thought of all that extra training – the endless conversations about weight and distance, fitness and endurance It was hard enough getting Patrick’s attention these days at the best of tih we both knew he didn’t believe it

‘I’ll leave you to it,’ I said ‘Sure Go for it,’ I said

And I ordered the cheesecake

If I had thought the events of the previous day would create a thaw back at Granta House, I rong

I greeted Will with a broad smile and a cheery hello, and he didn’t even bother to look round froood day,’ Nathan murmured, as he shouldered his way into his coat

It was a filthy, low-cloud sort of a ainst the s and it was hard to ilum on a day like this It wasn’t really a surprise that Will should be worse I began to workmyself all the while that it didn’t matter You didn’t have to like your eht of Treena’s boss, a taut-faced serial divorcee who monitored how many times my sister went to the loo and had been known to make barbed comments if she considered her to have exceeded reasonable bladder activity And besides, I had already done teeks here Thatdays to go

The photographs were stacked carefully in the bottom drahere I had placed thean laying theht be able to fix I aht be quite a useful way of killing ti this for about ten minutes when the discreet hum of the motorized wheelchair alertedat me There were dark shadows under his eyes Sometimes, Nathan told me, he barely slept at all I didn’t want to think hoould feel, to lie trapped in a bed you couldn’t get out of with only dark thoughts to keep you coht I’d see if I could fix any of these fraee ju I tried to look cheerful He needs someone upbeat, someone positive

‘Why?’

I blinked ‘Well … I think solue with o at the my lunch break and see if I can find soo, if you fancied a trip out … ’

‘Who told you to start fixing theht ‘I … I was just trying to help’

‘You wanted to fix what I did yesterday’

‘I –’

‘Do you knohat, Louisa? It would be nice – just for once – if so those photographs was not an accident It was not an atten It was because I actually don’t want to look at theot to ht you knew best Everyone thinks they knohat I need Let’s put the bloody photos back together Give the poor invalid so to look at I don’t want to have those bloody pictures staring at me every tiets et your head around that?’

I sed ‘I wasn’t going to fix the one of Alicia – I’ht feel –’

‘Oh Christ … ’ He turned away froical therapy Just go and read your bloody gossiptea’

My cheeks were aflame I watched hied even before I knehat I was doing

‘You don’t have to behave like an arse’

The words rang out in the still air

The wheelchair stopped There was a long pause, and then he reversed and turned slowly, so that he was facing me, his hand on the little joystick