"An understatement."

She shook out a cigarette and held up the packet. KIM, it said.

"My name," she said, "kind of cute to find a brand with your name on it. Sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Kyle's wife, that's one reason why I'm here."

He was disappointed. The young man didn't deserve her, he was sure of that.

"You were at his session. What did you think of it?"

"I'm a bit deaf," he said. "A lot of it passed me by. Over my head perhaps."

"You want to know what I thought? I thought it stank. But that's the stage we're at."

Forbes drew on his cigar.

"I see," he said, meaning I don't, and I don't care.

"I guess you haven't read his novel either. You should. It's nasty but I have to admit it's good. It's why we're breaking up, only he doesn't know that yet, so don't split on me. I'm not embarrassing you, am I?"

She was, of course, but he said: "Not at all. I hope you're doing the right thing."

A meaningless remark.

"Oh, I know I am."

The girl brought the ice-cream. She took a big spoonful and held it, spoon and all, in her mouth. She tapped Forbes's novel.

"So tell me about Lindy. And the Borghese Gardens. That's in Rome, isn't it?"

Lindy? The name meant nothing to him. But the Borghese Gardens and what came after? It was, surely, an absurd coincidence. "No way, my father's flying in tonight." They were sky-blue knickers, he remembered, noonday Roman sky-blue. Had that all but explicit inscription embarrassed her? He picked up the book, which had meant so much to him when he was writing it, and only a little less on the day of publication, and now had nothing to do with him. He hadn't seen it in 20 years, he told her. Where had she found it?

"I brought it with me," she said. "I made sure to bring it with me when I saw your name on the programme. So tell me about Lindy and the Gardens and what happened after. I hope you don't think me rude or importunate."

He did, actually, but then he liked her for bringing out the word "importunate", which belonged to an earlier more decorous century, and she was really very pretty.

"It's a long time ago. I'd forgotten she was called Lindy."