‘I’m going to start driving again, now that my legs are better,’ he told me, covered in Trumpers shaving soap. His eyes were defiant. ‘No reason why I shouldn’t?’ His chin jutted.

‘No reason at all. Although I might come with you for a bit. It’s been a while since you’ve done it.’

He hesitated, about to protest, but then realizing he’d done well to get the general concept through, went back to listening to the Today Programme, which ordinarily made him roar with rage, but this morning saw him soaping himself merrily.

My mother was up and ready to go, already sitting bolt upright in the chair by her bed in the ward. She was dressed in the clothes I’d brought her yesterday, clutching her handbag. Her overnight bag was packed and ready at her feet. She was also beautifully made up. Now that she could see, her make-up was much less erratic.

‘Hello, darling.’ She stood up as eagerly as an eighty-four-year-old woman can and came towards me. We kissed and I took the overnight bag. Mum then made her way to the nurses’ station to say farewell. Anyone would think she was checking out of the George Cinq, as she insisted on shaking hands with all the nurses, some of whom had no idea who she was, thanking them all profusely, and scolding me publicly for not bringing chocolates or flowers. Business as usual.

In the car which, despite her bravado, had taken us a while to totter to, she chatted away excitedly, along much the same lines as my father. They’d obviously discussed it yesterday, and her only worry seemed to be whether House of Fraser in High Wycombe would be up to cruise wear, or whether she’d have to go into Marlow?

‘I don’t want to end up looking like Jeannie’s sister-in-law who went with them last year,’ she told me. ‘I saw the photographs. She looked like an extra in Hawaii Five-O. So I think we need some specialized boutiques.’ She eyed me nearly as defiantly as my father had done, daring me to disagree, or worry that they were both too old for such a trip.

‘Marlow it is,’ I told her calmly. Luckily, like Dad, she was too distracted with her own life to notice anything unusual about me. I also knew that my children’s and Helena’s lives would be carrying on apace, and that having exchanged texts, and felt a great wave of collective relief, they’d forget, for the moment, about speaking to me. But I did wonder if Josh had seen it. The news. Not necessarily. It was only a quick news flash. It could have been on other programmes, but I’d looked online and bought all the papers – yes, all of them – and it was only a tiny column inch on a couple of inside pages. Easily missed.