Jack arrived home bang on seven, as promised. The plates were in the oven, the wine glasses were out and two bottles of breast milk were in the fridge door. Maggie was sitting cross-legged on the floor of the lounge, surrounded by christening paraphernalia – even though it wasn’t going to be a proper christening. Propped on the coffee table was an iPad showing Hannah on her nursery camera, sleeping in her cot.

Jack sat on the floor next to Maggie and laid the takeaway out on the coffee table for her to help herself. Maggie had become an eclectic eater since Hannah arrived – she’d learnt to eat on the run, grabbing bites of this and that as she ran from the washing machine to the dishwasher to the steriliser. Jack had ordered his usual chicken madras with steamed rice, while Maggie had gone for several starters that she could pick at.

Maggie swept the invitations, guest list, car list, booking confirmation, food confirmation and gift receipts to one side, so as not to get any of her hard work stained with curry sauce and Jack stared at it all in trepidation. Considering this wasn’t even a proper christening, there seemed to be a hell of a lot of prep to be done.

Through the onion bhajis, lamb samosas and kakori kebabs, Maggie never stopped talking. Such overt excitement was very unlike her and Jack wondered whether lack of sleep might be sending her a little manic. Then he spotted that she was drinking at her pre-pregnancy pace, which, after nine months sober, probably wasn’t a good idea.

He listened to his beautiful, exhausted, drunk wife and tried not to laugh. ‘The hotel in Richmond is booked, we got a discount on that so actually it’s the same price as the hall down the road. They said there’s no untoward reason, just a promotional thing. Anyway, it’s done now. There’ll be four babies and three kids there, so I’ve got them all gifts. Just a little something. Penny’s getting there in Mario’s car. The only thing left to sort is, I want some of those disposable cameras, so guests can just snap away.’ Jack didn’t express his curiosity about the price and instead smiled at Maggie’s unbridled enthusiasm.

When Maggie asked what he was smiling at, his next words came without having to think about them. ‘I’m happy, that’s all.’ The tears immediately welled in Maggie’s eyes. Jack put his food down and crawled across the carpet towards her. He wrapped her in his arms and held her head to his chest. She put her arm around his waist and gripped his shirt, screwing it tightly in her fist.

‘You OK?’ Jack whispered.