Page 91 of The Time of My Afterlife

Florence is busy flicking through the radio stations, needing something to listen to.

An idea pops into my head. ‘Jane’s second episode should be out by now. We could listen to that.’

Florence grins. ‘Perfect. Let me find it.’

As the melody of Jane’s intro music fills the car, Pearl casts us both a worried look. ‘What’s this?’

‘Jane across the road has made a podcast,’ explains Florence. ‘It’s about lonely hearts.’

Pearl looks a bit bewildered. ‘Good heavens, who would want to listen to a load of lonely souls?’

‘You’d be surprised,’ I reply, keeping my eyes fixed on the road ahead. ‘Her first episode did really well.’

‘It’s good, Pearl,’ says Florence reassuringly as Jane’s voice comes through the car speakers.

‘“Welcome to The Lonely-Hearts Podcast. In each episode, I read out anonymous letters from lonely hearts, hoping that one day they’ll find the courage to break free from their loneliness…”’

Florence turns back around. ‘I’m looking forward to this.’

‘“On this week’s show, we are going to be hearing from BlueSpottedUnicorn, who is lonely after his boyfriend walked out and got full custody of their much-loved pet. We will also be hearing from SecretSpeedoLover, who is lonely in her large house after the death of her husband. She’s found love again, but her daughter doesn’t want her to move on. Finally, we will be hearing from TheLonelyMechanic who cries while he mends cars.”’

I glance at Pearl, who, to my surprise, looks like she’s listening intently. Florence is looking down at her hands, and I can’t see her expression. I wonder whether she will recognise her mum.

After Jane reads out the email from BlueSpottedUnicorn I spot Pearl shaking her head in the back.

‘Are you okay, Pearl?’

‘That poor man sounds like he’s going through some dark times. I could feel the love he has for that pet rat coming through in his words. Deary me – I want to give him a hug.’

Florence nods. ‘That was sad. Poor guy.’

Jane reads out Yvonne’s email, and I make sure I don’t look at Florence. It’s quite heartfelt, and the way she speaks of Harry leaving a crater-sized hole in her heart makes me feel emotional. She talks about how her new man has brought the sun back into life. He’s kind and makes her laugh. The part about how she’s struggling to tell her daughter how lonely she’s feeling hits hard. I steal a glance at Florence, who’s glaring at the radio. Something tells me she knows the identity of SecretSpeedoLover.

I remain silent as Jane moves on to read a lengthy email from TheLonelyMechanic, who misses the woman who used to work for him in his garage’s reception. She was a fan of floral air fresheners and always made the place smell nice. He also loved the cups of tea she made and her home-made jam tarts. At the end, he acknowledges that it was a missed opportunity as she moved to Ireland to look after her sick mother.

I glance at Pearl, who is busy dabbing her eyes. ‘That poor man weeping underneath all those cars,’ I hear her mutter. It looks like Jane has a new podcast fan.

Florence has a thunderous look on her face and has taken out her phone.

‘You okay?’ I ask.

She shakes her head. ‘I think Mum wrote into Jane’s show.’

‘Really?’

‘The second email was hers. She was referring to me as the one who was stopping her from moving on. I don’t know why she had to email a podcast show.’

‘Have you talked to her?’

She rolls her eyes. ‘Of course I have talked to her, it’s only been three years since Dad died. Everything feels a bit too soon. She’s rushing into this friendship with Steve.’

‘Is this to do with you missing your dad rather than your mum’s emotions?’

Something flickers across her amber eyes. ‘You wouldn’t understand.’

She looks out of the passenger window.

‘Florence, I know what it feels like when a parent moves on. My dad left my mum for another woman.’