Excerpt from All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

"Good," retorted Rose. "You're not meant to. And if you don't want to hear more of it, you'll stop teasing me and tell me what you've really been up to this week!"

"Me was only having a little fun, Rose, you know that," relented Hubert. "But me consider meself told off, okay? So, what have I been up to?"

He slipped on his reading glasses and reached for the open notepad on the table next to him.

"Well, on Tuesday me take a trip out to the garden center, the big one on Oakley Road, you know it? Me buy a few bedding plants for the front garden—make the most of this mild spring we're having—and then me stayed on there for lunch."

"Sounds lovely. Did Dotty, Dennis, and Harvey go too?"

"Of course! We had a whale of a time. Dotty was teasing Dennis about him gardening skills, Dennis was play-fighting with Harvey in the bedding plants section, and all the while me trying to keep that rowdy bunch in line!"

Rose laughed.

"Sounds like a good time. I wish I'd been there. How's Dotty's sciatica, by the way? Still playing her up?"

Hubert referred to his notepad again.

"Oh, you know how these things are when you're old. They come and they go."

"Poor Dotty. Give her my love, won't you? And how about Dennis's great-grandson? How did he get on with his trials for… who was it again?"

Once again Hubert referred to his notepad, only this time he couldn't see the entry he was looking for.

"Me think… me think it was Watford," he said, panicking.

"Are you sure? I would've remembered if you'd said Watford because that's where Robin's mother's family are from. No, last time we spoke you definitely said… West Ham—that's it! You said it was West Ham."

Hubert frantically flicked through his notebook and sure enough, there were the words "WEST HAM" underlined next to "Dennis's great-grandson."

"Actually you might be right about that," he said eventually. "But really, Watford or West Ham, what does it matter? Him not my great-grandson!"

Rose chuckled heartily, clearly amused by her father's charming indifference to details.

"No, Pops, I suppose he isn't. But how did he get on anyway?"

"Do you know what?" said Hubert abruptly. "Me didn't ask Dennis and him didn't bring it up."

"Oh, Dad," chided Rose, "what are you like? You really should take an interest in your friends, you know. They're good for your health. I came across a very interesting study the other day that said people with a small group of good friends are more likely to live longer."

"Well, with friends like Dotty, Dennis, and Harvey, even if me don't live for eternity it will certainly feel like it!" Hubert laughed and then cleared his throat. "Now, darling, that's more than enough about me. Tell me more about this conference you're going to in Mexico. You're giving a big speech, you say?"

They talked for a good while longer, covering not just her trip to Mexico but also the new book proposal she was working on and the plans she had to finally landscape the garden so that she could make the most of her pool. Hubert relished every last detail she shared with him and could have listened to her talk all day. And so, as always, it was with a heavy heart that he realized their time was coming to an end.

"Right then, Pops, I'd better be going. I've got to be up early in the morning as I'm picking up a visiting professor flying in from Canada. What are your plans for the rest of the week?"

"Oh, you know. This and that."

"Now come on, Pops, remember what we agreed? No messing about. Just tell me what you're up to."

Hubert flicked to the most recent page of his notebook.

"Well, tomorrow night Dotty wants to try bingo down at the new place that's just opened up in town. Saturday, Dennis and me have talked about going to a country pub for lunch. Sunday, Harvey is having everyone round for a big roast. And Monday me having the day to meself to work on the garden. As for the rest of the week, me have no idea, but me sure Dotty's cooking up some plans."

Excerpted from All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle. Copyright © 2022 by Mike Gayle. Excerpted by permission of Grand Central Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.