Sara woke on Sunday morning feeling stiff and sore, muscles aching, her skin tacky after a sweaty night. Her clothes lay in a tangled pile by the bed, where she must have thrown them off in the night. She wondered if she was coming down with something, or perhaps it was just the after-effects of the treatments, working the toxins out of her body.

She got herself washed and dressed, then packed all her clothes, except the things James had bought for her. She couldn’t take those home, because every time she wore them, she’d think about this weekend, and that wouldn’t feel right if she was with Matt. She put them in a neat pile on the bed, ready to return.

James was already eating breakfast in the dining room when she joined him. He was very chirpy and seemed in the best of moods, even though she’d cut their weekend short. She, on the other hand, was feeling grumpy and thick-headed. She wondered if his good mood had something to do with the mystery friend he’d gone to meet last night, and the thought made her smile.

‘That’s better. You’ve got a beautiful smile,’ he said, observing her as usual. She blushed and focused on her food, gobbling down the organic granola as quickly as she could so this whole peculiar episode could end. It was time to go home.

Sara went to pick up Ezra from Hailey’s first. He was sitting on the windowsill in the lounge, waiting for her. She waved when she saw him there, her heart warmed by the instant delight on his face. He disappeared from view, and the minute Hailey opened the door, he threw himself at Sara’s legs. She swung him into her arms, her heart bursting with love for her child, and as she hugged him to her, she had a moment of clarity, an understanding that she’d got her priorities all wrong. Being with her family was all that mattered; everything else was a distraction, taking her away from the people she loved most in the world. Tears sprang to her eyes and she buried her face in Ezra’s neck, filling her nostrils with the scent of him.

Hailey gave her an appraising look as she held open the door. ‘Have a good weekend with… Louise?’ The way she said it, one eyebrow raised, made it very clear she didn’t believe Sara’s story about the hen weekend. ‘Back early, aren’t you?’

Sara smiled and kissed Ezra’s head, avoiding her sister’s gaze. ‘You can have too much of a good thing. Anyway I missed everyone.’

Ezra hugged her tighter. ‘I missed you too, Mummy. You won’t go away again, will you?’

‘No,’ Sara said with certainty. ‘No, I won’t.’

‘We had a good time, though, didn’t we, Ez?’ Hailey ruffled his hair. ‘And we have a surprise, don’t we?’