It was Susan who suggested I came to Manchester for the coin-collectors’ weekend although it felt odd, lonely, without her.

When I first found out I was to be made redundant I was not worried, I just regarded it as early retirement. The company had been very generous with my payout, which meant we had no financial worries but I soon found I had lots of hours to fill. Susan said I needed a hobby, and that’s where coin collecting came from – something to occupy my empty life.

The hotel had plush carpets a huge lobby and lots of glass. When I checked in I was greeted by a smiling Asian lady, the badge on her smart blazer telling me her name was Kahani. She was there again that evening as I returned from a day of haggling.

“Have you had a good day, Mr Banks?” she enquired in perfect English while handing me my key.

“Please, it’s Peter,” I said, “but, yes, I did find some nice old pennies”.

She insisted I show her some, and her eyes lit up as I told her why each one was special. I couldn’t help but contrast her attitude to Susan’s, which always seemed less than enthusiastic...

Kahani was on reception again early on Saturday and she gave me a little wave and mouthed ‘good luck’ as I left for another day’s hunting. I spent the day, not so much thinking about the coins, but about Kahani, who always seemed to be smiling despite the long hours she was obviously working. She had helped me go from feeling like a fish out of water, to not wanting the weekend to finish.

That evening I was telling Kahani about my day when she pulled some old Indian coins from her pocket.

“Would you like these Peter? They are very special.” They were clearly total rubbish, but not wanting to offend, took them off her.

“They are delightful, Kahani, I would love to have these in my collection. Thank you.”

“Oh good,” she replied. “Just one hundred English pounds for you.”

“Oh,” I said, “but… yes, of course, sorry.” I was fishing for my wallet when I saw her laughing at me.

“I’m just having some fun with you!” I shook my head, smiling at her joke which had really broken the ice. Reception was quiet so we went on chatting for a while, and before I knew it, we’d agreed that once she finished work we’d go for a meal, near to where she lived with her parents. We met in the lobby. I’m not sure what I expected, but after seeing her only in uniform, I was momentarily taken aback when she appeared in a sari, glittering with reds, oranges and golds. She simply took my breath away.

We went to an Indian restaurant down a side alley which I would never have found without Kahani. It was a magical place alive with life in a way that is hard to describe, with food that was simply gorgeous. As we talked she told me about her parents who ran a shop, and her brother who was studying medicine. I told her of my dissatisfaction with life and how things weren’t the quite the same with Susan anymore.

After the meal, she asked if I would walk her home which was nearby. We strolled slowly through a run down area until Kahani pointed to a large house, nearly as big as my own.

“This is me,” she said as she led me up the drive. She unlatched the door and beckoned me in, but took me up a flight of uncarpeted stairs and I realised she lived in a flat - her front door had ‘Fuck off Home’ scrawled on it. Still smiling, she kissed my cheek and said “Goodbye Peter,” before disappearing inside.

I didn’t stay for the final day of the fair. I needed to go home to Susan, and tell her how much I loved her.