Luckily, Harry just seemed to be happy to have any excuse to talk more about him. ‘I think they’re keeping his job open for him. He’s taking one of them, what’s the word…?’

‘Sabbatical?’ Jo suggested and Harry looked at her as if he was hearing the word for the first time.

‘Nope. I don’t think that’s it. But it’s like an unpaid holiday thing.’

Jo nodded with a smile. ‘Well, it will be lovely for you to see him,’ she said.

‘It will. He might even work a few shifts for me. Maybe he’ll get a thirst for running a shop? I’m not getting younger, you know.’

‘We do try to tell you that, Harry,’ she replied. ‘So when is he coming over?’

‘I’m just waiting to get details of his flight. But soon I think.’

‘Well, I’m happy for you,’ she said and she meant it. It was nice to see Harry so excited about something. She only hoped that Lorcan would not be as feckless in real life as he appeared to be from what she knew of him so far.

5

Who’s That Girl?

Friday night was the night on which the Campbell family watched Clara’s favourite film of all time, The Princess Bride. Clara was always allowed to stay up just a little bit later, but Jo was much later home than she had intended to be and Buttercup and Westley had already ridden off into the sunset together by the time she got in. Clara had been carried up to bed, her own Buttercup under her arm, and the dinner that her mum had prepared for Jo had dried to a cinder in the oven.

Although she felt bad for even thinking it, Jo was glad, for once, that she had missed bedtime with Clara. She’d make it up to her later, of course. But all she wanted in that moment was to take the family-sized bag of Maltesers she had bought in Harry’s shop, the bottle of wine she’d brought home from the pub and escape to soak in the bath for an hour.

‘Tough day?’ her mum asked, as she carried a load of washing into the kitchen to put in the machine.

‘Meh,’ she replied and shrugged. ‘I’ve had better, but I’ve had worse. Erin’s moving in with Aaron. So I’ve a tough decision to make about the flat.’

‘There’s always a bed for you here,’ her mother replied.

‘Ach, I know, Mum, and that’s good to know, but much as I’ve loved being here with you and Clara, once Dad is back, you will want your space, and it’s not exactly a good life plan for a twenty-nine-year-old to move back home permanently.’

‘Clara would love it,’ her mum said with a wry smile.