Amanda Prowse

She is the person I go to for everything from a cup of sugar to good advice.

You will die old and alone and you will know deep fear.

I will gather up all the little pieces that you have chipped away, hidden in drawers, swept under the carpet and shoved behind cushions and I will rebuild myself. I will become all of the things that I thought I might. All the dreams I considered before you broke me, I will chase them all.

start of their journey, here among the west London rooftops, living with this assured, worldly woman. Pru followed Trudy down a narrow hallway, noting the way she swept along on her high heels, which made her look refined and sophisticated, sexy. She was going to practise that walk and when she had enough money, buy herself a pair of high-heeled red patent leather shoes, just like Trudys.

The day that she and Milly had arrived at the six-storey terrace on Kenway Road, they had thought they were invincible, immune to the regrets and recriminations that came with old age. It was the last in a long list of rentals that she and Milly had painstakingly ringed in the small ads, and from the moment they arrived they knew it was the place for them. A statuesque, elegant woman opened the door wearing a silk kimono and smoking a thin cigar in an ivory cigarette holder. She introduced herself as Trudy; she lived in a flat on the top floor. Pru walked to one of two deep-set sash windows on the landing and gazed at the most incredible view of the London skyline, all the way out to Fulham and beyond. She let her eyes skim the horizon and red-brick chimney pots. This would be the

The cleaners in their blue nylon tabards and with their hair scraped up into untidy knots were hard at it, buff

buffing the brass fixtures with yellow dusters and mopping the pale, waxed wooden floor. The sun had started its creep through the large window that displayed the Plum Patisserie logo, working its way up like the revelation of a dancers fan until the whole room was bathed in light. Tiny white rosebuds had been placed in slender, finger-sized vases on every table. The glass display unit they had re-created to mimic those found in nineteenth-century Parisian coffee houses gleamed. The tiered glass cake stands and fancy china plates whose hand-painted flowers and swirls delicately kissed their fluted edges sat shining. Soon they would be arranged with scones full of jam and cream, soft iced buns and frosted sponges; flaky-pastry masterpieces stuffed with marzipan and dotted with an almond would tempt the sweet-toothed, perfect with a cup of hand-roasted French coffee.

Hows the window display coming along? Pru knew she could easily distract him and if she were being honest was keen to change the subject. In between the double-fronted café and the front door that led to their apartments stood a tall bow window emblazoned with the Plum Patisserie logo. The window was all that was left of the Victorian pharmacy that had been knocked through and transformed into their current corner premises. The space behind it was a little over five feet deep and with no particular purpose other than decoration it was the ideal place for Guy to showcase the latest Plum creations. The little gallery had become one of the most photographed spots in Mayfair. This pleased Pru no end: whether the photos were for a magazine or just one of a tourists haul of snaps, the fact that her logo and cakes were being admired by a wider audience was great advertising.

She was in a state somewhere between panic and hysteria, and when morning finally came, she would be exhausted from trying not to succumb to either. The morning. It felt very far away.

had some fun: tough times, but happy times. A lifetime ago. Youre the only one I tell everything to, but I know youre a secret-keeper, arent you, my love?