‘Boys!’ she cried, as they flung themselves at her, Stanley, then Harry. Their small hands gripped her skirt as if they were tethering her to the ground, preventing her from vanishing from them again. Would they remember the week when their mum had disappeared? Would it leave them with insecurities and doubts for evermore? She would make it up to them. She would put this right. If she could look after herself at the same time, she was sure they’d all be better off for it. ‘Oh, I’ve missed you,’ she said and bent her knees into a crouch so that she could hold them properly, her two squirming boys, both clamouring to tell her important things: first, that they’d spotted a penny in the fountain, as well as a gruesome dinosaur story they had listened to in the car on the way.

‘It’s in the water, Mummy, it’s just there, but Daddy said we couldn’t have it because . . .’

‘And the Diplodderers was like BOOF! BAM! And the T-rex was like CHOMP! KILL!’

‘We might fall in and get WET! Or bump our HEADS! So I said . . .’

‘And then they had a fight, and guess who was the winner?’

‘Hello, love,’ said Mack, catching up with them just then, and Olivia gently set the boys down again so that she could stand up and hug him, and remember how good it was to have his arms around her. They stood there for a moment, just leaning against one another, and her eyes felt hot with love for them all, as well as the sheer relief of having made it safely back to them.

‘Mummy, you’re not listening!’

‘Mummy! I said, guess who was the winner?’

Mack laughed at the barrage of protest and interruption currently assailing them from knee height, and they drew apart and smiled at each other. ‘I’m the winner,’ Olivia said to him. That was how it felt, anyway – forget the dinosaurs. ‘Thank you for coming, and for sorting all of this out,’ she added. Mack was so handsome, with his cropped hair and blue eyes, she thought, seeing him anew. So capable and strong. Thank God for him, she thought with a rush of feeling. ‘It’s gorgeous here.’

‘It’s good to see you,’ he said, kissing her. ‘And from now on, things will be different.’ He was so keen to show her he understood, she realized. So earnest about proving his love. ‘I’ve already been looking at my schedule, and I’m going to start delegating more so that I can get home earlier in the evening, help out more often. Whatever needs fixing, we’ll make sure it happens, okay?’