In twenty minutes they were pulling into a car park at the Würenlos service station, which spanned the road, traffic swishing along the wet tarmac beneath. As soon as they drew up Eddie and Alfie made a dive for the door and slid it open.

‘Brr.’ Carola shivered, pulling up her hood and squinting as snow tried to blow into her face.

‘Snowball fiiiiiiight!’ Warwick yelled, belting off towards the margin of undisturbed snow at the edge of the car park. Alfie, Eddie, Charlotte and Emily raced after him, cheeks glowing as they shouted to each other, voices loud in the arctic air.

‘Frozen-stiff hands coming up,’ Isaac observed, zipping up his parka, pulling up the hood and gloves out of his pockets.

Soon snowballs were whizzing through the air between the teenagers and even Neil and Franciszka joined in though they, like Isaac, wore gloves. Isaac freed Doggo from his crate and took him over to what was presumably a patch of grass when not covered with snow. The instant Doggo had finished what he’d gone there to do he launched himself joyfully into the fray and Isaac let his lead extend so he could dance about in the middle barking madly, trying to catch snowballs in his snapping teeth.

Lily, with only one functioning hand, didn’t see herself as particularly suited to snowballing. After a few minutes of watching the others laughing and squealing over freezing snow slithering down necks, she called out that she was going into the services and suggested they meet back at the minibus in half an hour. That ought to give everyone time to get over the snow excitement. Carola went with her.

Once indoors, coats unzipped, they looked about themselves at the large expanses of glass, almost blinded by the profusion of dangling white Christmas lights. ‘Wow. These are posh services,’ Lily observed, following the signs to the loos but glancing into shops selling organic food and expensive clothing along the way. It wasn’t until they’d visited the Ladies at a cost of two Swiss francs, to Carola’s indignation, that they paused to properly browse shop windows.

Lily stared at a window display of flimsy lingerie. And was that really a …? ‘Carola,’ she hissed. ‘This is a sex shop.’

Carola turned to stare too. ‘Oh my gosh. Vibrators!’ she said loudly.

And that was when a laughing voice behind them said, ‘See anything you like, ladies?’ Isaac passed them and headed for the Gents, grinning broadly.

‘Oh, great,’ groaned Lily, mortification sweeping over her. ‘We would be looking in here when he came by.’

It was the first time she’d heard Carola laugh for more than a week. She linked with Lily’s good arm. ‘How’s it going between you and him?’

‘Well …’ Lily began. Then, not seeing any reason to dissemble, said, ‘We’re planning a temporary thing until he leaves Middledip.’