I wasn’t sure that I did know. I’d done a pretty good job of trying to love my job more than anything in recent months, but it felt as though the snowstorm had blown everything into a different place and I wasn’t sure of anything any more.

She spent the next couple of hours dozing, while Jed read and I tried not to think about the clock ticking towards various different deadlines in my head. At ten o’clock the nurse politely invited us to leave, and we decided to head home rather than loiter needlessly in the waiting room.

‘Miss Armstrong?’ another nurse called from a side room as we were about to exit the ward. ‘Would you be able to take these? Only patients aren’t allowed flowers on the ward, and we’re running out of space.’

She opened the door wider as I approached, a wry smile on her face.

There were dozens of them.

Flower arrangements, fruit baskets, cards, chocolates. A three-foot-tall stuffed pig.

‘These are all for Joy Papplewick?’

I’d trusted the hospital staff when they’d assured us that they would be discreet about their famous patient. I guessed someone couldn’t resist a gossip.

‘They’re actually for Bea Armstrong’s grandma.’

‘What?’ I started to read a couple of the notes and cards.

Get well soon, Bea’s Gran!

Hope this cheers you up as much as your granddaughter cheers up my dad xx

Sorry you’re not well, hope the doctors can forecast a brighter day tomorrow.

‘This is…’

‘Yes.’ The nurse reappeared with a trolley. ‘Let’s load them up, shall we?’

‘Does this happen to you a lot?’ Jed asked, scanning the room in bemusement.

‘Usually people just send an email or a card to the newsroom.’

‘Usually you’re talking about other people and their lives, not sharing about yours,’ the nurse said, starting to stack the gifts onto the trolley.

‘I didn’t share about this, either.’

‘Quite a few other people did. Have you been online today?’

I had, but not since arriving at the hospital. My phone had started pinging with notifications as we’d entered the ward, and I’d turned it onto silent and stuffed it in my bag to avoid disturbing anyone and ensure that I was fully focused on Nana Joy.

Resisting the urge to start checking my feeds now, I eyed the pile of fruit and flowers and had a better idea.

Half an hour later, we handed out the last-but-one bouquet and wheeled the trolley back up to the ward. I’d intended to keep a couple more to dot around the Coach House, but seeing people’s faces lift as I stopped them in the hospital entrance and handed them a gift proved irresistible.

‘Keeping that?’ Jed asked, smirking at the pig.