35In a flash, it was Friday night and Vince was sitting at Fanny’s facing an empty chair. He pulled out his phone and checked his messages—yes, he and Elena definitely had a date. They had not spoken for a week or so and it was close to three weeks since their last rendezvous, but this time neither had cancelled. He loaded up a TED talk and listened to an earnest young woman discussing how growing bonsai plants changed her life—anything to distract him from constant negative ruminating, then flicked to another one talking about the benefits of faecal transplant. Bloody hell!
He looked up as Elena arrived and slid into the seat opposite.
‘Sorry I’m late, Doc.’
‘The life of a copper, eh?’
‘No, it wasn’t work,’ she said. Vince noticed a frown on that inscrutable Mona Lisa face. ‘Nonna’s h
