If Jane thought 'Billy' looked like the sort of man at risk of having a heart attack, she might think he had one now. He gaped at her, turned pale, seemed to stop breathing.

Then he caught his breath and stepped back. "Come in," said the Manchester train, gesturing in the direction of the kitchen, mostly because he needed to sit down. And also because of the neighbours. God, the neighbours!

Jane. His sister Jane... Thirty three years had altered her completely - physically that was, she still liked to criticize him, as had become clear these past few minutes. She was a stout woman now, though healthy, he thought. In fact, she looked better than most women had looked at her age where they had grown up. She was a nurse, he remembered. She had made something of herself. So why did she feel the need to revisit the dreary past she had clearly escaped from?