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‘To work, not to play’ He grinned at her, but there was no responsive smile

She didn’t answer for a while ‘Everyone thought I was crazy when I e for the same price as my two-bedroom flat,’ she said eventually ‘People in their twenties come to London, they don’t leave it—they only move out when they have children, or if they want to totally reinvent themselves’

‘People come to London for the same reason,’ he said, but so quietly he wasn’t sure whether or not she heard him

‘I went to Hopeford on a whi to herself ‘It was Sunday I orking as usual I lived around here, in a beautiful flat, walking distance to Rafferty’s I worked all the time’

‘You still do’ Not that he could talk But at least he had his training to break up the days, refresh his brain Polly lived with her laptop switched on

‘That Sunday I was in by six am I couldn’t sleep And by eleven I was done No emails to send, no reports to read or write, no plans to check And I didn’t knohat to do with myself I had all this ti

‘So I went for a walk I was heading towards Regent’s Park, I think, planning to go to the zoo It’s e did as kids for a treat Raff was already gone Maybe I washim Anyway I ended up at Marylebone There was a train to Hopeford and I liked the name—hope So I ju, just travelling to a strange place on a whiot there and it was like another world’

‘It’s very pretty’

‘And very quiet I couldn’t believe it No shops were open, nobody orking, people were just walking, or gardening or cooking When you live and work in London you forget that people live like that We sell the tools, you know, the sheets and the candles and the saucepans and the garden furniture but it feels a little like make-believe I didn’t want it to be make-believe any more I wanted it to be real

‘So you moved?’

She laughed ‘No one could believe it; I didn’t really believe it It was the o anyway’

‘Are you happy there?’

There was a long pause Ni photos of aoutside the many boutiques

‘Yes,’ she said finally ‘I am’