Chapter Eleven – 21 years before the collapse
It had been fourteen months since Jim had lost his job at the university.
Through a window of Carter Rodriguez’s large shed in his allotment that he said he had inherited from an aunt, Jim watched Annabel leave for one of her private lessons. There were several families living on the allotment site and given the current housing crisis, the council seemed happy to turn a blind eye as long as they didn’t make a nuisance of themselves.
Twenty-two months old, Olivia sat on the floor of the cabin, next to the philodendron plant, playing with newspapers, and Jim dressed her in her warmest clothes. They left the allotment by the back entrance, hoping to avoid the neighbours who were always trying to convince Jim to join them on some dishonest ventu
