That England is a cold country and when somebody touches you, you feel warmer. That we are animals, and this is what we do, the cold calling of one body to another. Sometimes you just need somebody’s arm to catch on the small of your back, to brush against your neck, to run across your breasts and linger on them a while.

So, dear anxious lady, you tell your boyfriend whatever you like. All he really needs to know is that you are a whole person, made of flesh and bone and invisible histories. Remember, when your past calls, you can let it go to voicemail anyway. Sometimes it hasn’t got anything new to say.