He didn’t hesitate. ‘Our lives are in England and I wouldn’t separate Josie and Maria by such a distance. I like Middledip and soon I hope to hear that Josie will have a place at the village school. All the stretched feeling of juggling work and childcare has faded away. I’ll find something to do in a while – maybe some way of working from home – but there’s time for that. I’d like to integrate with the village more. Get involved in fun stuff.’

‘There’s an old folks’ party at the village hall on the twentieth,’ Hannah teased. ‘You could take Nan.’

He shrugged. ‘Happy to. She’s an interesting lady and I wouldn’t mind helping out on the tea urn or ferrying plates about. My life’s been so structured, my working life so make-or-break, I’ve barely had time to get involved in a community. I could be the pain in the arse who organises everything and is always trying to rope people in.’

‘We’ve already got one of those. She’s called Carola and works in The Angel,’ Hannah said, with a gurgle of laughter.

His eyes crinkled at the corners. ‘In that case I’ll be assistant pain in the arse.’

Then Maria began to cry because she’d face-planted in the snow and he hurried to swoop her up and brush her down, drying her tears with his gloved fingers and then putting her on his shoulders for the journey home.

Josie dropped back to walk with Hannah. ‘You know what would be really, really good? If we filled the whole garden with snowmen. Then when Farfar comes out of hospital they’ll still be there even though we’ve gone home.’

‘What a lovely idea!’ Hannah laid her arm on Josie’s shoulder. ‘How about this afternoon while Dad’s visiting Farfar in hospital? We could keep it as a surprise.’

‘Yeah!’ Josie tried to skip but skipping in snow was like skipping in glue. She raised her voice. ‘Dad! We’ve got a secret and we’re not going to tell you!’

Nico turned, a tall figure wearing Maria on his shoulders like a fashion accessory. ‘Is it about my Christmas present?’

‘No!’ Josie laughed. Then she looked up at Hannah and whispered worriedly, ‘I haven’t got him anything because we usually make presents for our parents at school.’