After about ten rings there was finally an answer.

‘Hello?’ said a slightly shaky voice.

‘Hi Grandpa, it’s Adèle.’

‘Hello?’ repeated the old man.

‘Grandpa?’

‘Yes?’

‘It’s Adèle!’

‘Oh, hello, sweetheart. How are you?’

‘Oh, fine, and you?’

‘Oh, you know, I’m …’ he replied with unmistakable weariness. ‘Why are you calling?’

‘Well … Mum explained that she’s going travelling, didn’t she?’

‘Yes, in Peru, she told me.’

‘OK, good, well I just wanted you to know that you can call me if there are any problems. I can come and see you.’

‘Oh right.’

‘While she’s away, I mean, you can call me,’ Adèle kept on, a little disappointed by her grandfather’s lack of enthusiasm.

‘Okey doke, that’s good,’ he replied politely.

‘And you’ve got my number, Grandpa?’

‘Yes, your mother gave it to me. But Adèle, are you still living in London, dear?’

‘Yes, but don’t worry, it’s not that far. I can get the train to you, it wouldn’t take long,’ Adèle lied.

‘Oh yes, you just get the train to Poitiers and then the bus, don’t you?’

‘Exactly,’ said Adèle, who had no idea how to get there, having not visited him for almost ten years.

‘And how long would the journey be overall?’

‘Oh, I don’t know, half a day, maybe a little more,’ guessed Adèle. But she suspected it would take a lot longer than that. Her grandfa