‘Oh, Joe,’ she says. ‘Joe, what’s happened? Are Dad and Gus OK? What’s going on?’

‘They’re fine.’ I lower my voice. ‘Sorry, you have to pretend it’s your birthday.’ I thrust out the flowers and chocolates and she takes them.

‘Thank you!’ she says loudly. ‘You didn’t need to do this!’ She puts it all down on the table. ‘What’s happening?’ she says quietly.

‘Can we go somewhere and talk? Just while you’re on your break?’

She steps back and disentangles us a bit. ‘Of course. Come on. Dan? I’m just going to have to skip out of a bit of the next session, OK? Can you tell Nicki?’

Mum manages not to say anything until we’re at the nearest cafe, which is a regular greasy-spoon-type place and very un-Mum. I just keep looking at her, relieved beyond belief to have found her. I’d forgotten what she really looks like. I’d replaced her with a slightly different version, a mother who’d go off to India for twenty years without me. Real Mum has long hair that’s going grey. She’s wearing leggings and a T-shirt with her coat over the top, and no make-up. Above all, she looks incredibly worried.

‘What’s happening, Joe?’ she says as we sit down. ‘How worried do I need to be?’

‘Oh, Mum,’ I say. ‘I just really needed to see you. I’m so scared about something that’s going to happen tonight. And I needed to see you one more time before I …’ I hesitate, edit out the word die. ‘Go.’

‘Oh, Joseph.’ She puts her hand over mine. ‘Look, you don’t have to go on the French trip if it’s going to bother you this much. Honestly – it doesn’t matter in the scheme of things. Not at all. It’s not worth getting worked up about it. Does Dad know you’re not at school?’ I shake my head. I bought myself time today by making a phone call to school. ‘Then I’d better call him. Let’s get you home. My course finishes tomorrow, but I can come home with you today. I’ll skip the rest of today’s session and do a day trip back here tomorrow. I’m sure they’ll let me have the certificate anyway. I’ll finish my Sanskrit this evening.’

She stares into my eyes with such intensity that for a moment I think she knows everything. I’m warm inside. Happy. She didn’t leave us. She’s still with Dad. I know that they’ll split up later, that Dad will remarry, but right now, today, they’re happy with each other.

‘Can we go home now?’

‘Give me a few minutes to sort it out with Dan and Nicki. And then we’ll need to walk down to the hotel to get my stuff and the car.’