‘Still pretty bad. But he’s dragged himself into work today, so he’ll live, I expect,’ I replied. ‘We’re both asleep by nine o’clock most nights at the moment, so I’m sure he’ll manage to sleep it off.’

‘Sounds familiar,’ Lucy said. ‘Oscar and I had a “date night” last night. It involved a Chinese takeaway that gave me chronic heartburn, so I had Gaviscon for dessert and then I fell asleep half an hour into a film. Rock and roll.’

‘Ladies, I hate to burst the beautiful baby bubble, but a takeaway and a film will be a hot date night for the next, ooh, eighteen years. Welcome to your new life!’ Tara giggled. ‘Anyway, I’ve got to dash, I need to get back in time to pick the boys up from nursery. You take care of each other okay, no dashing around or buying up the whole macaroon display. I know what your sweet tooth is like, Aisha.’ She looked at me affectionately. ‘And you two preggos will travel back to Clapham together, right?’ Lucy and I nodded obediently. ‘Good. Lovely meeting you, Lucy. Look after each other!’ And she rushed off.

We finished our macaroons and ordered seconds. I figured I already weighed the same as a Smart car, so a few more macaroons wouldn’t hurt. I got the impression Lucy wasn’t in any hurry to get home either. A couple of times she looked like she was weighing up whether or not to tell me something.

‘It was weird the other day, in the meeting,’ she offered at last. I bristled, thinking for a moment that she was referring to Jason’s behaviour; that she was going to pry. ‘Having Oscar there. I found it weird.’

I visibly sighed with relief that she wasn’t going to interrogate me; I didn’t feel strong enough today, to continue pretending everything was okay. But the idea that perhaps there was a chink in her seemingly perfect relationship gave me a little comfort.

‘Weird, in what way?’ I asked.

‘Because this baby was made differently—’ she stopped herself abruptly mid-sentence, her eyes a little watery and her cheeks flushed all of a sudden. I leant forward, studying her, wondering what was coming next. ‘He’s… an IVF baby.’

A waitress came over and refilled our tea cups from the pot between us.

‘You told me, and that’s not unusual,’ I said lightly, trying to make her feel at ease. I could tell she wanted to talk but I knew better than to push her. Lucy seemed quite fragile today. Her eyes were reddening. She sat up straight in an effort to pull her emotions into check.

‘This probably isn’t the right time or place. I just – well I don’t really have many other people to talk to.’

‘It’s fine to talk. I’m all ears, if you want to.’

‘What I didn’t tell you the other day, in Gail’s, is that Oscar and I were actually on a break when I found out I was pregnant.’ I sat up straighter, intrigued. She was certainly full of secrets. ‘It was a tough time, you know. The IVF was under way, but he got cold feet. He panicked, big time, and called it off.’