In her arms were a dozen red roses. ‘These were delivered this afternoon,’ she told Rhona with a wide smile. Her neighbour had set her sights on seeing Rhona ‘settled down’ as she put it, and took a keen interest in her love life... when there was any. Rhona waited until she was inside the flat before she looked at the card. It simply said ‘For you’. The rush of pleasure the words brought surprised her. She hadn’t thought about Sean all day. She never mixed work and pleasure. While the bath filled, she fed Chance and poured herself a glass of wine. Her kitchen window looked down on the gardens of a convent. In daylight it offered a tranquil scene. At night, soft light lit up a statue of the Virgin Mary that stood in the centre of the lawn. The tolling of the convent bell for prayers was part of her life. Rhona loved its certainty, although for her there was no certainty in life, except death. She slipped low in the water, enjoying the heat on her skin. Sex with Sean had been good.
