'You look sad Mark - why sad…?' She had detected his changing look as he had uttered the words. 'What does he do know?' she ventured. Unwittingly, there was some connection or nerve she had touched.
'My dad is no longer with us...he died last year of a heart attack; not that old either.'
'Oh Mark, I'm so sorry,' she said, instinctively reaching across and laying her hand on his arm. 'Was it peaceful - in his sleep?'
'No, I'm afraid it wasn't. Apparently, it was the result of an argument he had had when he was in a cafe. Some nasty piece thrown… coffee or juice over him; he fell over...left him there as she walked off. He went on to have a heart attack apparently, left him to die. We don't know who was, but I'll find out one day, mark my words.'
Unconsciously she quickly withdrew her ha
