‘So we started walking. I got nervous when we got to the seminary, but John didn’t say anything about being a priest or anything. He didn’t even notice it. We were still walking. I got so excited that I actually got a chill up my spine. John thought I was cold, so he asked, “Do you want my coat?” because he had this big comfy parka that was warmer than my pea coat. But I was trying to be super polite so automatically I was like, “No, it’s okay!” Then, of course, I spent the next hundred steps thinking, You are so dumb – you could be wearing his coat right now! That would be so cute!

‘But it didn’t matter. We were still walking, still holding hands. We were halfway around the lake. Three-quarters of the way. Everything was perfect. My heart was soaring. I was thinking, This is my boyfriend! This is my soulmate! Screw ginger Rupert and his sonnets!’ Mary Kate took a deep breath. ‘There was only one teeny-tiny problem: his palm was starting to get pretty sweaty.’

‘Uh-oh.’

‘But I didn’t even think it was a bad thing! I thought it was a good thing. I was on such a high, I thought, Great! His palm is sweating because his pulse is speeding up, because he’s having some kind of biochemical love reaction!’

It took a lot of focus to keep my mind on Mary Kate’s story and not on what a great EDM band name Biochemical Love Reaction would be.

‘And then he started stumbling,’ she went on. She seemed to sag, like a sodden rag doll. ‘And I’ve never heard of stumbling as a biochemical sign of love. But I tried to stay positive. I said to myself, I haven’t taken advanced bio yet so what do I know?

‘The end is in sight. We’ve made it ninety percent of the way around the lake, and we’ve been holding hands the whole time. Now his palm is really sweaty, but I don’t even care. That sweat is the glue that’s holding us together. I am GRATEFUL for that sweat. That sweat means we are going to make it. This guy is going to be my boyfriend, I’m finally going to have the St Mary’s love story I’ve been waiting for.

‘Then, suddenly, he starts to pull away,’ she continued slowly. ‘He says, “I think I just need a second …”’

I reached out and put a comforting hand on her leg.