Tall and skinny, with a mop of unruly black hair, twelve-year old Adam had become a good companion, his laidback temperament welcomed, particularly on days when Anna felt frustrated by her lack of progress.
"Cheer up, Mum," he"d say, if she appeared downcast on his return from school. After tossing him a smile, she would rise from her office chair, follow him into the kitchen, switch on the jug and open the Tupperware box containing cake or biscuits.
Having already organised his own drink of cordial or a glass of milk, Adam would wait for her to make tea before taking his glass and the plastic box onto the screened-in patio – the mosquitoes were voracious in Elizabeth Park even during the day – and deposit them on the round polyurethane table in the corner. Seated on yellow plastic chair
