The two of them are ganging up on me, but it’s not like I have anything better to do and perhaps it’ll distract me from thinking about my birthday.

‘OK, why not.’

‘Good,’ says Dad, a triumphant look on his face. ‘Now, that almond croissant looks really good. I might just get one for myself.’

‘Dad! You know you’re supposed to be cutting down.’

‘Don’t worry, I didn’t have any breakfast at home.’

That’s not really the point and he knows it.

‘Plus, it’s not every day your baby turns thirty-five.’

‘Tell me about it,’ I say, wishing that everyone would stop reminding me.

Chapter 2

We arrive at the school in plenty of time for Dad’s presentation and are greeted by Claudia, the twins’ teacher. She wastes no time getting straight to the logistics of how the talk’s going to work.

‘First, we’ll introduce you to the kids,’ says Claudia, ‘then we’ve got the perfect story lined up for you to read, if that’s OK? It’s about a boy deciding what he wants to be when he grows up, and then we’ll finish off with a Q&A. It’ll be nice and informal, so hopefully the kids will all get to join in.’

My dad is grinning like a Cheshire cat. He’s the complete opposite of me in that he loves public speaking. Dad’s the face and the spokesperson of our company and I’m the behind-the-scenes-making-sure-everything-happens person; it’s why we make such a good team.

‘Right, so we’ll get you a—’ Claudia’s interrupted by Dad’s phone ringing. He excuses himself from the conversation and retreats over to the other side of the room. ‘As I was saying, I’ll just go and grab your visitor passes before I take you to the class,’ says Claudia. She heads into the glass-walled office in the corner.

‘You’ll have to report back, Edie, and let me know if the twins behaved themselves in class,’ says Layla.

‘You’re not going to watch?’

‘No, I’ve got a meeting with the head teacher – governor stuff.’

‘Oh, well, I’m sure the twins will behave as they normally do.’

‘That’s why I’m worried.’

I laugh but stop when Dad walks back over with a frown on his face.

‘Everything OK?’ asks Layla.

‘No, actually, Julie let herself out of my house and she’s locked her car keys inside.’

‘Oh, gosh,’ says Layla, as Claudia returns, passes in hand.

‘I’m going to have to leave and give Julie my spare key; otherwise she won’t make it to work on time.’

‘You can’t go,’ I say to Dad. ‘What about the kids?’

Dad looks at Claudia in a panic then glances over at me. ‘Why don’t you do it, Edie?’