The year rolled on and nothing changed. Soon it was Christmas. We'd always taken Christmas seriously when Fred was around, and I felt like we should continue to. I agonised over what I'd get Sophie for Christmas. I'd never had that problem before. She'd always liked what I got her, even if it was something shitty. But I ended up buying a necklace from Bill's Antiques. She never wore jewellery apart from some things on her wrists that looked like rubber bands, but I'd picked up somewhere that girls like jewellery, and it seemed like a safe bet. The necklace was expensive but Bill gave it to me half price - another Error of Judgement no doubt. He asked me if I had a girlfriend. I told him to mind his own business.
On the way back from Bill's I saw Sophie. I'd never seen her in the city before, but there she was, on one of the benches at the edge of the big park where we'd stayed our first night in the city. I was on the other side of the road. There was lots of traffic going by and people going in and out of the train station so she didn't see me. She was talking to a boy. He was maybe sixteen or seventeen. He had a schoolbag on but no school uniform. He had a skateboard that he rolled back and forth with his feet as he sat there talking to Sophie. After a while he touched her shoulder and skated away. Sophie stayed on the bench for a while, looking off into the city. Then she left.
I told myself it was nothing, but on the way back to Ambrose I passed by the river and I threw the necklace in.