‘A couple – we popped out at God knows what time to try to unwind for a bit before going back,’ he admitted. I wondered who the ‘we’ was, knowing that late-night shifts were often a solitary job. But I didn’t interrogate him further; he was clearly shattered.

I pressed my fingertips into my belly. Somehow I had expected him to know instinctively why I was here, meeting him for lunch like this, out of the blue. I’d only ever done it once before, and that was on his birthday.

‘Shall we get a sandwich or did you come here just to tell me I look like shit?’ he asked, heading towards the revolving door. He hadn’t even kissed me or reached for my hand. It wasn’t like Jason. I wondered if this was a bad idea after all. Maybe I should have just waited for him to come home in his own time. He seemed awkward about me being here.

We walked in silence into the warm day outside. From nowhere I felt tears fighting their way up to the corners of my eyes. But I wouldn’t let them break free, not here, amongst the pencil skirts and wafts of Elnett.

I forced a smile. ‘Where shall we go then? I’m starving.’

Jason suggested Pret so we got takeaways and, as it was such a nice day, headed to Finsbury Circus Garden. The pregnancy test was burning a hole in my bag. I wanted to steal a look at it, to check it still had a positive reading. That I hadn’t imagined it.

‘So, I didn’t come here to tell you off,’ I said, taking a deep breath and feeling a little stronger for it as we sat down on the grass together. ‘I came because I have some news. Some good news.’

I delved into my bag and encased the little stick in my palm. I moved fractionally closer to him, so as not to show it off to the entire garden, which was busy with office workers eating their own Pret sandwiches.

I revealed the tip of the stick and unclasped my fingers from around its body, so the two blue lines in the ‘Pregnant’ box were clear to see.

I watched his face for a reaction. He was staring at the stick, unmoving.

‘I’m pregnant,’ I whispered, in case he needed it spelling out. He can’t have thought I’d come here to show him a negative result.

His eyes were wide with shock, yet he still said nothing. I looked up at him, my eyes just as big. ‘You’re going to be a daddy, Jason!’

‘Wow. Oh wow, Aisha,’ he said at last, sitting upright, inhaling deeply and blowing the air out loudly. He took the stick from my hand and held it, not caring who might see. ‘Oh wow.’ He was almost laughing. ‘This is for real, right?’

‘Yes, baby – of course it is!’ I said, my eyes darting between the stick and Jason. ‘I really wanted to do the test with you this morning, but you weren’t home and I couldn’t wait any longer. I’m sorry.’