What kind of excuse was that? It meant I was left on my own for the part about what your partner can do for you during labour, like identifying tension points in your muscles and practising relaxation techniques. I was livid, and far too cross to text Jason back.

At lunchtime, Oscar joined Lucy and she introduced him to everyone in the group. He was as tall and bald as Lucy had described him, but he was attractive and he looked trendy, dressed in turned-up dark jeans and a black, what looked like cashmere jumper. A pair of cherry red socks were visible under the turn-ups and he wore box-fresh white trainers, giving him a creative edge which I appreciated. He definitely had charisma; his confidence was obvious and I could see why Lucy had fallen for him. When it came to my turn to be introduced, he shook my hand firmly and smiled, ‘Aisha, lovely to meet you. Lucy has told me so much about you.’ We all helped ourselves to the food, Oscar making loud, appreciative noises about how good it all was. He even took a slice of my not-quite-banana-cake.

Oscar was good at socializing. He greeted everyone with firm handshakes and eye contact as he repeated each person’s name and found something interesting about them. He made everyone feel special. It was quite an art form to witness and made me feel even more frustrated that Jason wasn’t here making an effort too.

‘I’m Oscar, pleased to meet you.’

‘Oscar – hi, and you are?’

‘Hello there, Susie, I’m Oscar, and this is…?’

‘Lin. It’s great to meet you too, Lin. Susie and Lin, how fortuitous to fall in love with someone so beautiful.’

‘Will, it’s great to meet you, sir. What a fantastic group of people.’

And so on, back slaps and handshakes, air kisses and compliments, as he made a point of greeting each individual in turn.

‘How’s the salad going down? She’s a pretty amazing chef, this one,’ he had added, nudging Lucy proudly.

I kept myself busy by serving up my almost inedible banana bread to the others, watching self-consciously as Susie graciously nibbled it. It was typical that Lin was the only one who wasn’t shy about telling me it didn’t fit in with her vegan, sugar-free and gluten-free diet – hence the free-from-everything cacao brownies she had made again. Helen might have thought I didn’t notice her fold her piece of banana stodge into a napkin and deposit it into the bin untouched, but I did. I smiled affably as she caught my eye.

I had been intrigued to see Oscar and, from what I could see, he was certainly allaying any worries Lucy previously had to do with whether he was ready to be a dad again. He seemed to ooze enthusiasm and Lucy looked justifiably proud.

A dark, nagging concern about Jason’s readiness for fatherhood and his unpredictability descended on me again. I pulled my phone out of my jeans pocket and checked it. No more messages from him. No indication of whether or not he was coming back, never mind an apology for leaving me here alone yet again.