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lively and knew his stuff. Ben was confident that he would be an asset in theatre when they operated.
    The consultation with the minister had gone well. Ben had explained the transverse colectomy procedure to him and his wife. He had shown Negasi Kidane where he would make the cut in his abdomen to remove the middle part of the colon containing the tumour. He would also be taking out the lymph glands closest to the bowel, to check if any cancer cells had spread there, he said, then described how he would join the ends of the colon back together.
    The minister seemed happy with the information and keen to get the operation over with. It was due to take place at nine o’clock on Saturday morning, which left today, Friday, free. Today Ben and Declan were going to a clinic outside Asmara, where Declan and John Lester had been on their last trip, to help train some local surgeons.
    Ben was looking forward to it. Declan had organized a car
and was going to drive. He said it was about an hour outside the city.
    Ben looked at his watch. It was only eight. They weren’t due to leave until ten. He showered, then decided to go for a walk and grab breakfast at a café instead of in the hotel. He wanted to soak up some local atmosphere. He wandered down the palm-lined main street, Independence Avenue, watching the cafés setting up their tables and getting ready for the day ahead. He walked on to the old town square, where the imposing post-office building dominated everything. Ben’s guidebook told him that Asmara had been colonized by Italy at the end of the nineteenth century and remained so until the Second World War. He could see the signs of Italian influence everywhere.
    Apart from the architecture, there were lots of old Fiats parked on the roads. But most people in Asmara seemed to cycle. According to Declan, some of the surgeons in Eritrea only earned two dollars a day. He said the surgeons were very well educated but too bookish and had very little clinical focus, which was why John Lester had decided to help train them.
    Ben wandered around for a while, then went to find the Casa degli Italiani, which the minister’s wife had recommended. He walked through the imposing stone-pillared entrance onto a pretty terrace. Sitting there, sipping his coffee, he felt lighter than he had in ages.
    He thought about Alice and the girls, doing the usual morning things at home, getting ready for school and work. He missed them, and feel guilty about Jools’s birthday, but he was still glad to be out of that routine for a few days, to be in a new place, having new experiences. Would he be able to hold on to his energy and positivity once he was back in London? He wasn’t sure. But things needed to change, he knew that now. He couldn’t go back to living that humdrum life.
He would have to talk to Alice, explain to her how he was feeling, and between them they’d find a way to make their lives more meaningful and fulfilling. The girls were moving into new phases now, and it was time he and Alice did, too. He made himself a promise, sitting there in the sunshine, to try to be less distracted and spend more time at home when he got back, but also to have his own sense of purpose. If he could get Alice on-side, he knew they could have it all.
    Ben glanced at his watch. Time to go. He paid the bill and headed back to the hotel. On his way he passed a jewellery shop. He glanced at the window and saw a gold necklace with the initial A on it. He decided to buy it for Alice. But when he went into the shop, he decided to buy three. Each necklace had an initial – A, J and H, one for each of the women in his life. The girls would be thrilled, and he hoped Alice would be too. He’d surprise them when he got home. Ben left the shop, delighted with his purchases.
    Once back in the hotel, Ben tried to call home again, but his mobile still wouldn’t work. He was about to ring Alice from the hotel phone when Declan knocked on his door and said they