In January, Ash reads a card addressed to Nina Swann and family from Nick Radcliffe, who explains he worked with Paddy Swann in a Mayfair restaurant long ago. Nick remembers Paddy as one of the nicest and most talented chefs he knew and recounts a chance visit to Paddy’s Whitstable restaurant where Paddy joined him, shared wines, and caught up warmly. Nick expresses regret that he never returned before learning of Paddy’s recent death and sends his love and sympathy.

Ash shows the card to Nina, whose exhausted demeanor underscores ongoing grief. Ash searches online and finds Nick’s LinkedIn profile listing him as the co-founder and owner of Bar Amelie in London W1, noting his appearance. Nina does not recognize Nick but offhandedly remarks that he is attractive, prompting a brief, awkward exchange with Ash.

Ash looks up Bar Amelie’s glossy website and contrasts its sleek, caviar-forward aesthetic with Paddy’s rustic, sandy-floored seaside restaurants. Ash suggests they visit to hear stories about Paddy’s earlier life before he met Nina. Nina deflects, saying Ash can go alone, perhaps even getting a free meal or a job, a pointed comment that introduces tension.

The conversation turns brittle, and Ash pointedly replaces the card. The narrative then shifts to Ash’s circumstances: she works at a local fashion exchange boutique with the owner, Marcelline, refurbishing and selling secondhand clothing on consignment. The job, intended as a summer stopgap after returning from an unsuccessful stint in London, has stretched through autumn and into late January after Paddy’s death.

Ash reflects that she is nearly twenty-six, still living in her childhood bedroom and reluctant to leave the family’s seaside house that still smells of Paddy. She recognizes she has regressed since his death, feeling stuck and as if she is falling backward rather than moving forward.