My concern however wasn’t the passing cars or their unfriendly drivers, but what was going on at that moment inside the Grind Our Own Beef. Had my mind not been momentarily filled by the Mother’s words and her embrace, I might have been able to dissuade her from going inside. But no sooner had the embrace finished – and despite her remarks about Josie and the Father needing time to themselves – she’d suddenly vanished from my side, slamming the car door behind her.

As the minutes went by, I recalled the tense moments in Mr Capaldi’s building, and wondered if, despite the discourtesy, my own arrival inside the Grind Our Own Beef might be required in order to divert proceedings from scenes of similar upset for Josie. But before I could decide, the Father appeared on the sidewalk on the other side of my window. He pointed the key device at the car, and when nothing happened, examined it more closely then pressed again. This time there were release noises around me – the Mother must have locked me in – and walking around to the traffic side, he quickly entered the car. He settled himself in the driving seat, but hardly glanced my way, staring instead towards the under-bridge area. Then he placed a hand on the steering wheel and began drumming his fingers on it.

‘Amazing how she still has this vehicle,’ he said. ‘I helped her choose it. For a while she was keen on a German car, but I told her this one would be more dependable. Well, I wasn’t wrong. At least, it’s outlasted me.’

‘Since Mr Paul is an expert engineer,’ I said, ‘he must be very good at advising when choosing cars.’

‘Not really. Car engines were never my field.’ He went on touching the steering wheel, now with some sadness.

‘Are Josie and the Mother about to come out too?’ I asked.

‘What? Oh no. No, they’re not. I don’t think they’ll come out any time soon.’ Then he said: ‘In fact Chrissie suggested I drive off somewhere. She wants me far away while she talks more with Josie.’ He seemed less angry than in Mr Capaldi’s building; indeed he was now almost dreamy. ‘To be honest, I wasn’t unhappy when Chrissie came in. You’d think I wouldn’t be pleased, her interrupting like that. But the truth is, Josie and I weren’t exactly having a light-hearted conversation. In fact I was in a tight spot. Look’ – at last he looked at me – ‘I’m sorry if I’ve behaved badly towards you. I have a feeling I may have been impolite.’

‘Please don’t worry. I now understand very well why Mr Paul may have been reluctant to greet me warmly.’

‘I’ve never been good at, well, relating to your kind. You have to excuse me. No, I didn’t mind Chrissie breaking in on us. Because Josie was in the middle of asking some tough questions, and I’d no idea, no idea at all, how to answer her. No fool, that Josie.’ He looked out again to the under-bridge area, and went on drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. ‘After that visit, I wanted us to have a relaxing time. A coffee, something to eat. But then she asks me. Since Capaldi is trying to help us, as I’ve been claiming, why do I hate him so much?’

‘How did Mr Paul reply?’

‘I’ve always been useless at lying to her. So I guess I was, you know, prevaricating. And I knew she could see right through me. That was when Chrissie came in.’

‘Does Josie suspect about…about this plan? The one in case she has to pass away?’

‘I don’t know. Maybe she suspects it, but doesn’t dare look at it. But she’s no fool. All these tough questions. Why was I so against someone doing her portrait? Well, let Chrissie have a go at answering.’ Suddenly he placed the key device into the ignition slot. ‘We’ve been instructed to get lost for a while. Until, to be precise’ – he looked at his watch – ‘five forty-five. Then we’re to rendezvous at this sushi place. All of us, apparently. Josie, Chrissie, the neighbors too. So unless you want to sit in a parked car for an hour, I suggest we drive around.’

He started the engine, but the traffic line had become so extended we couldn’t yet move. I put on the safety belt and waited. Then the lights changed up ahead and the car lurched forward.

* * *

—

Shadow and light patterns moved all around us, then we came out from the under-bridge area into an avenue of tall brown buildings. We drove past a large creature with numerous limbs and eyes, then even as I watched, a crack appeared down its center. As it divided itself, I realized it had been, all along, two separate people – a runner and a dog walk woman – moving in opposite directions who for an instant happened to be passing one another. Then came a store with a sign saying ‘Eat In Take Out’ and in front of it, a lost baseball cap on the sidewalk.

‘Was there anyplace special you wanted to go?’ the Father asked. ‘Josie mentioned something about your old store. She said we’d passed it earlier today.’

As soon as I heard him say this I recognized the opportunity it represented, and exclaimed perhaps too loudly: ‘Oh yes!’ Then controlling myself, I said more quietly: ‘If you don’t mind, I’d very much like that.’

‘She was saying it may not be there any more. That it might have moved on.’

‘I’m not certain. Even so, if Mr Paul could take us to the area, it would make me very happy.’

‘Fine. We’ve time to kill.’

At the next intersection, he turned to the right, saying as he did so: ‘I wonder how Chrissie’s getting on. What they’re talking about right now. Maybe she managed to change the topic.’

There was now more traffic and we moved slowly behind other vehicles. The Sun was sometimes visible, but he was already getting quite low and the tall buildings often blocked his view. The sidewalks were busy with office workers at the end of their work, and we passed a man on a ladder, doing something to a shiny red notice that said ‘Rotisserie Chicken’. The pedestrian crossings and Tow-Away Zone signs went by, and I could sense we were coming nearer to the store.

‘Can I ask you something?’ the Father said.

‘Yes, of course.’

‘I think Josie’s still largely in the dark. But I don’t know about you. How much you’d guessed before. How much you found out today. Perhaps you wouldn’t mind telling me what you do know.’

‘Before I visited Mr Capaldi today,’ I said, ‘I’d suspected some things, but had been ignorant of many others. Now, after this visit, I can understand Mr Paul’s unease. And I can understand his initial coldness towards me.’

‘I apologize again for that. So. They explained it all to you. How you fit into the picture.’

‘Yes. I believe they told me everything.’