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it into his computer tower and burned the solitary track on to it. Moments later he ejected the CD from his computer and clutching it in his hands he made his way downstairs to the kitchen.

Coming home
    As Rob was going into the kitchen Ashley was pulling up outside the house. It had been a long, hard day at the hospital, but although she was exhausted, she was also elated to be coming home to Rob for the first time. She had been worrying all day about how he was settling in to being in Manchester – even while she was seeing patients – but had refrained from calling him for fear of overwhelming him. The fact was Ashley felt guilty. She felt guilty for having forced the issue. She felt guilty that he was now without friends. But mostly she felt guilty because while he had transformed his entire life for her, little in hers had changed. She was in the same house, doing the same job and could spend time with the same friends. She almost wished she could make a sacrifice equal to Rob’s so that things wouldn’t seem so unbalanced, but she couldn’t think of anything that would come across as more than an empty gesture.
    As she made her way up the path to the front door, rummaging in her bag for her house keys, she stopped and listened. She could hear music, which seemed louder the nearer she came to the house. She went inside and walked along the hallway to the kitchen. When she opened the door, the sight before her eyes made her laugh so hard and for so long that she felt as if she would never stop. Rob was standing on the oak kitchen table her parents had given her as a housewarming gift. Eyes closed, he was playing air guitar to a cheesy eighties-sounding rock song coming from the portable CD player on the kitchen counter.
    Still laughing, Ashley walked over to the CD player and turned it down. Rob’s eyes flew open and then he grinned at her. She was glad he seemed happy.
    ‘Hey, you,’ he said, still on the table. ‘I didn’t hear you come in.’
    ‘Well, you wouldn’t, would you, you nutter?’ said Ashley. ‘You wouldn’t hear anything over that noise. What was that racket?’
    ‘Van Halen,’ he replied.
    ‘Van Halen as in “Jump”?’
    ‘The very same. Which is strange since I don’t like “Jump” because it reminds me of school discos when everyone used to jump when they got to the chorus.’
    ‘So what does this song remind you of?’
    ‘It’s called “Dreams” and reminds me of driving along Highway 61 in an open-topped Cadillac,’ he replied. ‘Not that I’ve ever done it, but I might one day.’ He climbed down from the table and kissed her. ‘Musically speaking, Phil’s in a retro phase and he’s been rediscovering the back catalogue of a certain Mr Eddie Van Halen. He emailed the song to me this morning saying, and I quote, “It rocked.” He’s right too. It does rock.’
    ‘I knew he had to be involved in it somewhere,’ said Ashley, putting down her bag. ‘You two are like Thelma and Louise.’ She smiled. ‘Anyway, apart from listening to soft-rock anthems what else have you been up to? Highlights and lowlights.’
    ‘My lowlight . . .’ said Rob, and took a moment to think ‘ . . . was getting caught in the rain in town today. I know it’s January but does it ever stop raining in this place? It’s a wonder the United and City players haven’t all got webbed feet. It’s just so relentlessly grey here – it’s as if it’s in the air.’
    ‘You get used to it,’ Ashley told him. ‘What about your highlight?’
    A broad grin spread across his face. ‘Opening my eyes a few seconds ago to see you standing in front of me.’
    ‘That, my darling boyfriend, was the right answer.’ Ashley kissed him again.
    ‘How about you? How was your day?’
    ‘My lowlight was shopping in the supermarket near the hospital at lunchtime. The queues were huge and there were no fresh vegetables. It was awful. I’m afraid it’s just pasta for us tonight.’
    Rob put his