‘We should find this JB!’ says Rhi, banging the table, making the empty bottles rattle. ‘Let him know he has responsibilities!’ And I get the feeling she’s referring to her own experience as a young single mother, and Michael, who walked out on her and the kids. She ended up working at the department store with Lou and me one Christmas to afford presents for the kids, but later, when they were at school, she went back to college to retrain. ‘I’ll give you a good haircut too! It can really change how you feel about yourself,’ she says. I’m hoping she means in the morning, not now.

‘She’s right,’ says Lou. ‘JB might be delighted to find out he has a Tomas in his life. And a good haircut really does make you feel great!’ She holds up a finger shakily. ‘Nails too!’

My mind is whirring about what to do for the best.

‘It’s up to you, Stephanie,’ I say, clearly not having drunk quite as much as my friends. ‘If you want to find JB, we can …’

Suddenly I find myself wondering what Fabien would think of this idea and wishing I could ask his advice. But maybe Henri is the person to speak to. He has much more experience and has brought up daughters. Am I saying the right things? I think of Mum and what she might do. I can only do what I feel might be right for Stephanie and Tomas.

‘Really? You think he’d like to know?’

‘Look, there are no certainties, but maybe he deserves a chance to get to know his child.’

She looks at me. ‘Then I’d like Tomas to meet his father. I always wanted a father. Sadly, it was never meant to be.’

‘I never met mine either,’ I tell her quietly. ‘He and my mother broke up before I was born. My mum brought me up. I never felt the need to track him down. I was happy with Mum. We were a family.’

‘Didn’t you want to know? I did,’ she says. ‘I always hoped there was someone out there who’d love me like I wanted to be loved.’

I shake my head. ‘As long as you feel loved, that’s all you need.’

‘I didn’t,’ she says, with a flash of anger in her eyes. ‘My mother loved drink and drugs far more than she loved me, or she wouldn’t have left me to bring myself up, would she?’

We all fall silent.

‘It’s up to you, Stephanie. It’s your choice,’ I finally say.

‘I’d like Tomas to know his father, to know there was someone else he could turn to if anything happened to me.’

‘Then it’s a plan!’ says Rhi, banging the table, her enthusiasm fuelled by wine. ‘Tomorrow!’

Tomas falls over and cries. Stephanie jumps up and goes to pick him up, as does Rhi.