Mum suddenly appears and without a word, takes Rose out of my arms.

“I’ll give her some time with her nappy off on the mat,” Mum says. “She can have a good kick and see if that helps.”

My mouth hangs open, but before I can argue, Mum’s gone with Rose in her arms. I’ll deal with her later, but for now…

“So, what are you suggesting we do, Elliot?” I say, crossing my arms.

“I have a girlfriend now – Saskia. We’ve… Well, I’ve been seeing her for a while and she’s special, you know?”

“I’m happy for you.”

Which is true. I’m glad he’s moved on, that he won’t attempt to try to rekindle something with me – not that there was a spark to begin with.

“The thing is,” says Elliot, “Saskia was a little put out when I told her about Rose and I want to reassure her that she’s the most important thing in my life. I want to…” Elliot takes a deep breath and blows it out. “We’ve only been together a couple of months, but I want to ask her to marry me. Only before I do, I think we need to sort things out here with Rose.”

He looks so young and earnest I want to laugh. I’m also slightly horrified this man-boy is the father of my child.

“Sounds sensible.”

“I mean, let’s be honest. I don’t even know how to hold a baby and you and I, we never had a relationship, not a proper one, so I thought maybe I could be excused of father duties.”

“Right. That’s being very blunt.”

“I’ll visit from time t-to time,” stammers Elliot, “and as she gets older, she might want to hang out with me or even come and stay, but I’d rather not be involved, if that makes sense. Apart from financially. I’ll help out there of course.”

“Sounds like a good plan to me.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely.”

Grinning, Elliot plants a wet kiss on my cheek. “You can always call me if you need something, OK?”

“I’m sure we’ll be fine, but thanks.”

Elliot looks at me fully for the first time since he arrived.

“Do you think it makes me a bad person?” he asks quietly.

I take some time to consider my answer. Does it make him a bad person for not wanting to stick around and be a dad to Rose?

“Some might feel that way, but I don’t. My biggest fear since Rose was born was that you’d want to have some kind of ownership of her. I think we need to do what works for both of us.”

Elliot nods. “Yeah. I told Mum and Dad about Rose and they freaked. They keep insisting I do the right thing, whatever that is. Apparently, I’m being irresponsible.”