Olivia gazed into the middle distance, but was no longer aware of the calm surroundings. She hadn’t been able to believe it, either, that shocking day almost twenty years earlier when she had discovered the pregnancy. She had never quite been able to believe it, even as she sat there in that noisy, overheated maternity ward, dazed after the shock of the birth, holding that small warm person with a plastic tag around his ankle. The same small warm person who, if all went to plan, would shortly be discovering that he had two new grandparents. Lorna was right: it seemed impossible to believe, even now. ‘I’m glad,’ Olivia said, uncertain of what else to say.

‘I was just wondering, though: if we do track him down, should we tell you?’ asked Lorna. She sounded all fired up, as if she were about to jump in a car and go knocking on doors for Leon as soon as she put the phone down. ‘Do you want to know whatever we find out? See him?’

Here they were: the biggest questions of all, ones that Olivia had avoided looking at for so many years. While her secret was sealed away, hidden from sight, it had been easier to put him out of her mind, that little baby whisked away who-knew-where. And yet now that the secret was out, she wasn’t sure there was any way back. Maybe she didn’t want to go back anyway, though, she thought.

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘If he wants to, of course. I owe him that much.’

‘Okay,’ said Lorna. ‘I’ll keep you posted.’ There was a pause and then she added, ‘We’re really grateful for this. Can we stay in touch, whatever happens? There’s a proper connection between us now, isn’t there?’

‘Yes,’ said Olivia with a lump in her throat. Lorna had helped her when she had been down on her knees, at her lowest point. Who wouldn’t want a person like that to stay in their life? ‘Of course we can keep in touch.’

‘I know you’ve lost your mum, but you’ve got me now, don’t forget,’ Lorna went on. ‘You know where I am, if you ever want to come back – with or without the rest of your family. And I’m just at the end of the phone if you need a chat, okay?’