“School is cool,” Amelia says, bursting into giggles as he plucks her out of her chair and into his arms.

“Is it? First week went well?” He looks at me.

I nod. “She’ll be fine. The kids all flock to her because they think she’s a novelty right now, but she’s already got her eye on a couple of them to be friends.”

He chuckles. “That’s my girl. Should we eat dinner before it gets cold?”

She nods, and he plants a kiss on her temple before setting her down.

I walk to her seat and spoon some mac and cheese onto her plate before taking my own seat and filling my plate. Josh smiles widely, taking the spoon from me and dishing up his own.

It looks lovely. Mrs Becker has gone above and beyond to take care of us, and I am grateful. I fill the fork and take a bite. It’s loaded with onion and garlic, and when I make it for Melly, I leave all that out and add lots of bacon.

Melly pulls a face, and I know just what the problem is. This isn’t my mac and cheese.

“Have a try.”

She meets my gaze. Her lower lip wobbles.

“Amelia?” Josh’s concerned tone hurts as much as Melly struggling. “What’s wrong?”

“I want Mummy’s mac and cheese.” Two big tears roll down her cheeks. I know she’s tired from her first week at school, and this on top has just broken her. She’s in an unfamiliar place, she’s started school with all new kids, and she’s not got a lot around her to make her feel at home yet.

Standing, I walk around the table and pick up her plate. Scraping the food into the waste disposal, I run it to get rid of the evidence. I don’t want to hurt Mrs Becker’s feelings.

“Mummy?” Amelia asks.

“Hang on, honey. Let me just find a few things.”

Walking into the pantry frustrates me. Nothing is where I’d put it, and it seems to take forever to find a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter.

“Delaney? Is everything okay?” Josh asks.

“It’ll be fine.” It’s up to me to work this situation out. When I feel at home, Melly will be much more comfortable.

I spread the peanut butter on two slices of bread and piece together two sandwiches which I cut into triangles for her. It’s been a while since she ate it like that, but it was her thing for a long time.

Placing it in front of her, I kiss the top of her head and she picks up a piece of bread and bites into it.

“Is that better?” I ask.

She nods, and I wipe her tears away with my thumb. Tomorrow will be a new day, and we’ll all be at home together.