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shop for a can of Coke. She could sit down and drink it in the medical school garden, leading off from the shop. She knew about the shop and the garden from Ruth, who had pointed both out to her. If she went there and delayed a little she would miss the worst of Charding's rush-hour traffic and, quite apart from that, she was absolutely parched with thirst. Off she marched to the shop.
    It had been built long after the medical school and stuck out from its creeper-clad side like a bare brick appendage, not attractive but functional. As she neared it she could see several of the staff buying evening papers.
    Amongst them was Bill Corby. Easy to recognise with his mop of dark curls and short stocky figure, he was still in his surgical coat. With him, and bending his head in conversation, was Simon Easter, the sight of whom halted Anna for a second for she hadn't really banked on meeting either him again or Bill Corby that night. Still, to do so was inevitable for they had spotted her and were waiting. She could hardly, with any politeness, turn the other way.
    'You've had an action-packed day, Anna!' Bill was the first to speak. 'Thrown in at the deep end, as it were!' His face was the chubby kind.
    'It happens!' Anna smiled back at him, whilst on the periphery of her vision she caught the movement of Simon's paper as he tapped it against his thigh.
    'I think Sister is probably used to deep ends,' he observed in level tones, not exactly squashing Bill nor praising Anna either. She looked at him then, caught his eye full on her and immediately wished she hadn't rolled up her sleeves or undone the top of her collar. She looked improperly dressed and unprofessional, and was getting hotter by the minute.
    'If you'll excuse me,' she said, turning sideways and moving between the two men, 'I'm going to get myself a drink before starting off for home.'
    'If you want tea there's the vending machine... Cold is at the counter,' Bill called after her, and she raised an arm in answer. Choosing a can of orange juice and taking a plastic beaker from the pyramid on the counter, she pushed through into the enclosed garden at the back of the medical school.
    There were one or two students there, stretched out on the strip of grass, but the two long garden seats were free. Taking the nearest one, she opened her can of drink with caution, mindful of her dress, then, stretching out her legs in front of her, she prepared to relax but had taken no more than three sips of her drink when Simon appeared at the shop exit and, to her astonishment, joined her on the seat.
    He didn't ask her if she minded, or anything like that, just sat down and half turned to face her, remarking on the brilliant evening and telling her that he was killing time before going up to the station to meet the London train. 'I'm meeting my parents off it; they've travelled from Cornwall today. They're staying with me for a few days before flying off to Corfu.'
    'A lovely holiday,' Anna commented, gripping her plastic beaker so tightly that it nearly caved in at the sides.
    'A long awaited one, I assure you. My father has just retired. He was a GP in Port Treviss...in single practice too. This break is something he and my mother have been looking forward to for goodness knows how long. I'm just glad it's come at last.'
    'Will he settle well into retirement, do you think?' Anna asked.
    'Well, at first it will be a novelty, won't it?' Simon said thoughtfully. 'How about your folks, are they living near...? They'll be younger than mine, of course.'
    'Mum and Dad live in Surrey; Dad's a vet.' Anna began to loosen up and talk more naturally. 'He and Prue were in partnership at one time. It was actually Prue's practice then, when she retired and came to live here, Dad took in another partner.'
    'Interesting!'
    'Yes.' She smiled.
    'Your grandmother,' he said, 'is a remarkable lady.'
    'You can say that again, and she loves living down here. Her husband, my grandfather, was killed in the