‘Before you go,’ Katie said, half getting up.

‘What is it, love?’ Cynthia came over with her coat.

‘Well . . .’ Katie sank to her chair again, blushing. Em saw that her hands had a tremor too. ‘I know it might seem a bit silly, after all this time. But I want to clear the air. When we were living down the road, my mother didn’t behave very nicely to some people . . .’

‘That wasn’t your fault,’ Cynthia said. ‘You were only a babby!’

Katie seemed very moved by this. Her eyes filled with tears and for a moment she struggled to speak. ‘It’s nice of you to say that,’ she said. ‘But all the same . . . I wanted to say I’m sorry – to both of you. When you were poorly, Mrs Brown, my mother wasn’t very kind about it, and she made me feel that I shouldn’t see Em and play with her. And I went along with her, and I know it was wrong of me. Truly wrong and nasty.’ Katie wiped her eyes. ‘I was horrible to you, Em, and I just went off and left you when you needed a friend. And I was so busy being snooty towards Molly Fox that I couldn’t even see that . . . well, in her way, she was better than me, wasn’t she?’

Em swallowed. This she couldn’t deny. ‘Molly was a good friend then,’ she said.

‘Well, I’ve always regretted that I wasn’t.’ Katie spoke looking down at the tabletop. ‘And that I didn’t argue with my mother. She was so . . . so forceful, and so worried all the time about my uncle – I think that was what it was, partly . . .’ She looked up at them again.

‘Your uncle suffered in his mind, didn’t he?’ Cynthia asked.

Katie stared at her and suddenly burst out laughing. ‘It’s so funny, isn’t it? All these things people think they’re hiding, trying to keep a secret – and everyone knows all along! Why can’t we all just tell the truth!’

‘Well, yes . . . I s’pose you’re right,’ Em said. ‘But people can be so unkind.’

‘Oh, they certainly can,’ Katie said. ‘I do want you to know how sorry I am for being so nasty myself.’

Cynthia walked round and patted Katie’s shoulder. ‘So far as I’m concerned, it’s all past history and we’ll put it behind us, love. Now – don’t forget to give those lads some cake. I’ll see you later.’

When she’d gone, they sat quietly for a minute before Em said, ‘I still can’t believe you’re here.’

‘It’s ever so nice to see you,’ Katie said, and again Em was struck by the change in her, the cold, closed manner all gone. ‘I’ve missed you, you know.’

‘Me too.’ Now it was Em’s turn to have tears in her eyes. ‘Funny, isn’t it – we were only babbies, but we got on so well. And now, knowing you’ve got a little lad as well – it’d seem such a waste, never seeing them together. Hang on, I’ll go and have a look at them . . .’