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‘An antidote to pain’. Eight letters. Surely, it had to be pleasure? James squinted at the crossword, scratching his head with his pen as he checked the answers in the neatly completed grid. Everything else looked right. What could the answer be?

He could head inside and check the thesaurus, or the crossword dictionary that the kids got him last Christmas. At the time, he’d been cautiously pleased. It made a pleasant change from the usual thoughtful gifts that somehow missed the mark and ended up in a drawer, eventually destined for a charity shop. One of his daughters had set up a dictionary and thesaurus app on his phone, which he agreed was a good idea in principle. It was a bit too fiddly for him in reality. And, besides, much of the appeal in doing the crossword was challenging his mind.

He’d tried to explain it to the kids, but they struggled with the idea. Instead, they’d grabbed his phone and bookmarked (whatever that meant) websites that offered solutions for tricky crossword clues.

‘You just need to put in the number of letters for the clue and any letters that you’re sure of.’

James had looked closer at his son’s face. Was he implying that he didn’t know, or, heaven forbid, guessed the answers? He was going to ask but then his daughter grabbed the phone, saying she would set up shortcuts to the bookmarks or some such thing, and he’d turned back to his puzzle in the newspaper. The slow clicking of his favourite pen betrayed his growing irritation. He knew they meant well. If he complained or offered any resistance, his wife would take their side, rolling out her favourite line about him being a Luddite who only used his mobile phone as a paperweight.

It was true. He only carted it about as they continually asked him where it was and why didn’t he answer it when they called him on some trivial matter. The one thing he’d figured out all by himself was how to put the wretched thing on silent.

James turned back to the puzzle, a smile lighting up his face. Of course. He could see it now. Curative. It was the perfect fit.

Photo: Imagine sculpture, outside the Mona Vale Library