‘OK… OK Doc. Might I ask how you propose paying for the Taj Mahal or whatever bloody monument you’re building to Laura. Won’t Father what’s his bloody face be a tad surprised to hear you’re – indigent – or does he play blackjack too?’

‘Watch yer lip boy.’

‘Or wot Doc?’

He made the effort also to rein in. We’d never – ever – hit this place before.

‘Father Cleary doesn’t know, alright. Treesmead will pay for his project and get me out of the hole – it has to.’

He paused, then, ‘I went to see Meryl Streep in her action pic, River Wild and jeez, she was louder than the friggin’ rapids, so my head was opening. Could you then stop shouting at me now – OK.’

I didn’t even know I had been, said, ‘I wasn’t shouting – you went to the cinema without Laura.’

‘Would have been hard to bloody bring her.’

I went to make coffee, brewed up a storm, heard Doc say, ‘Tea for me, two sugars.’

Mutterin’ ‘Now he tells me’ I half mangled a tea bag into a cup, sloshed water on it, tepid water. Put the sugar in before extracting the bag and, worst crime of all, didn’t heat the cup. All petulant I grant you but it was that or reach for the new 12″, give it an early outing. Piled the lot on a tray that had Charles and Di’s wedding portrait. As he sipped the tea, he gave a grimace, asked, ‘Did you heat the cup?’

‘Always.’

‘Not yer best mate – no, not at all.’

‘Doc, why don’t I do this – I’ll move some of the repo money to help you out.’

He gave a sheepish grin, ‘Em… might be a slight problem.’

‘No, I’ll tell the accountant to do it – he gets paid to shuffle figures. A little cosmetic arithmetic and you’re whistlin’ Danny Boy.’

‘I’ve been and sang that song already, ’tis not a tune worth humming.’

Now I was up, ‘You’ve been dippin? You’ve been robbin us!’

‘Whoa – slow down Streep. I’ll put it back, it was just sitting there. But I do have good news.’