“Yes, that’s right. How are you?” Paula recalled the day when Bruce had nearly lost his foot in an accident on his farm. She’d gone over to look after the children while Jane had gone with him to hospital and their neighbour Jackie had turned up to help. Paula eyed the child bouncing on Jackie’s hip. “Your baby’s grown.” He was long and lean like his mother. His fingers were in his mouth and dribble ran off his chin and soaked his sleeve.

“So has yours.” Jackie lurched forward and placed a hand on Paula’s stomach. “Have you done the wedding ring test yet?”

Paula stood stiffly not knowing what to say. The baby in Jackie’s arms pulled his fingers from his mouth and reached for Paula’s earring. She stepped back and felt something behind her.

“Ow, Aunty Paula.” Isabelle wailed and pushed out from where Paula had squeezed her against the table.

“Sorry, Isabelle,” she muttered.

“I had the wedding ring test with each of mine.”

“The wedding ring?”

“Four times it predicted a boy and four times it was right.” Jackie beamed at Paula. “I don’t usually believe in that kind of stuff but it was right and...”

“Mum!”

A boy’s voice bellowed and Jackie spun around.

“I’m here, Charlie.”

He pushed his way to her side. His clothes were in disarray, his face was red and beads of perspiration trickled past his ears. “Jimmy’s stuck in the tree and we can’t get him down.”

“Okay. I’ll be there in a minute.”

Charlie pushed his way back through the crowd and Jackie rolled her eyes and laughed. “Never a spare moment once you have children. But they’re so precious.” She kissed the top of her baby’s head.

“Mum!” Charlie gave another bellow from the door.

“I’d better go and sort Jimmy out. See you again, Paula.”

Before Paula could move Jackie reached forward and gave her tummy one last pat, then she turned and set off to find the hapless Jimmy.

“Who was that?” Alison had come up beside her.

“Jackie, she’s Jane’s neighbour.” Paula put her hand where Jackie had patted her and gave a small shiver. “She was saying something about a wedding ring test.”

“I’ve got a girlfriend who swears by that. But you don’t want to know, do you? You said you and Dan want a surprise.”

“We do but I still don’t understand about the wedding ring.”

Alison laughed. “Don’t worry about it.” Oscar was pulling on her arm. “He wants to go outside and have a turn on the bouncy castle.”

“Me too.” Isabelle turned away from the dolls.

“Manners, Isabelle.”

“May I have a turn too, please, Mummy?”

Paula looked at her niece’s big blue eyes. Her skin glowed and the ribbon in her thick blonde hair matched her cheeks. She could be one of those porcelain dolls.