When they came, they came with shovels.

It's sixteen years to the day since they first set foot in Kensal and fifteen years to the day since they met. People take anniversaries seriously to greater and lesser degrees. For Marvin it was a matter of order; you keep the years easily categorised as a bare minimum and then work on the months. After those are mastered you can move on to the weeks, days and, for the truly adept, the hours and minutes. So a year after first passing it on the bus he stepped into the Greyhound for a gin and slimline.

Sally was different, of course. She had no such system but knew only that she had arrived on her birthday and a year later it was her birthday once more. The two friends with whom she might have spent the day were out of town. The Greyhound was nearby, served Kronenbourg and had a stack of the day's papers to read. She was immersed in the letters page of the Times when he walked in. It was only when she rose to find the sports section that she became aware of him, and he of her.

That first moment was one which would stay with them for at least a decade and a half. For both the moment held an instant and overwhelming feeling of distrust and though the intensity would fade, as it invariably does, that distrust would provide the foundation of a beautiful relationship. Her friends would later tell her that to make such a coupling work there are other ingredients, but she knew in her heart of hearts that this profound suspicion would carry them through whatever life dealt.

There was something in his expression as he toyed with the tiny slimline can which spoke of dark secrets and malevolent intentions. There was something wrong in the way his scarf bunched around his neck like a brace and his glasses sat flat on his face, almost against his eyeballs.

For his part he immediately noticed the hesitancy in her movements. She acted as if she knew that what she was doing was wrong and questionned only whether she would get away with it. Over the years he would often watch her move around their flat and mull over her true motives.

How they first got talking was unclear and though they never voiced it, each suspected that the other had engineered the whole situation.