"How did you enjoy your first day at school?" Debbie asked, as I wandered round the living room.

"It was strange. I haven't been inside a school since… Well, it's been a long time. So much has changed. When I was…" I stopped. The cover of a book had caught my eye: The Three Musketeers. "Is Donna still making you read this?"

Debbie poked her head through the doorway and looked at the book. "Oh," she laughed. "I was reading that when we first met, wasn't I?"

"Yep. You hated it."

"Really? That's odd — I love it now. It's one of my favourites. I recommend it to my pupils all the time."

Shaking my head wryly, I laid the book down and went to view the kitchen. It was small, but professionally organized. There was a lovely smell of fresh dough. "Donna taught you well," I remarked. Debbie's mum used to be a chef.

"She wouldn't let me leave home until I could run a good kitchen," Debbie smiled. "Graduating university was easier than passing the tests she set."

"You've been to university?" I asked.

"I'd hardly be teaching if I hadn't."

Laying a tray of unbaked scones into a petite oven, she switched off the light and motioned me back to the living room. As I flopped into one of the soft chairs she went to the CD stand and looked for something to play. "Any preferences?"

"Not really."

"I don't have much in the way of pop or rock. Jazz or classical?"

"I don't mind."

Choosing a CD, she took it out of its case, inserted it in the player and turned it on. She stood by the player a couple of minutes while flowing, lifting music filled the air. "Like it?" she asked.

"Not bad. What is it?"

"The Titan. Do you know who it's by?"