Sophia nodded. ‘Can’t you tell him to have a break, Mum? He just told us he won’t have time to come to football on Thursdays for a few weeks.’

Sara’s heart went out to her girls. They had such a strong bond with their father, so strong she’d felt pangs of jealousy at times, when they got all the attention and she felt forgotten, taken for granted. Until she reminded herself that he was everything she’d ever wanted in a father; she should be happy that her girls would grow up with a stronger sense of self-worth than she’d ever had and be in a position to make good decisions when it came to relationships.

‘It won’t be forever,’ she said as she made the tea. ‘It’s just temporary. Anyway, I can come and watch if you’d like.’

The girls looked at each other, an unspoken message passing between them. ‘But you don’t even like football, Mum, so what would be the point?’ Sophia said. ‘You don’t understand it, do you?’

Sara reeled, stung by the way her suggestion had been so quickly dismissed.

‘I can come if you like,’ Hailey said with a grin. ‘One of my service users goes every week now, so I usually go to support her.’

Sara turned to look at her sister, blindsided by this turn of events. It was unusual for Hailey to volunteer her time for anything, due to her unpredictable hours.

The twins looked at each other, eyes wide. ‘Would you?’ Sophia said, clearly delighted by the idea.

Hailey knew all about football. She’d been captain of the Ilkley women’s team until she’d ruined a ligament in her knee and couldn’t play any more. ‘Me and your mum can come together,’ Hailey said, glancing at the girls, then back at Sara, giving her a wink. ‘And we’ll train her up – educate her on the ins and outs of football – how about that?’

The girls grinned, gave each other a fist bump. ‘That would be so cool.’ Amelia pointed at Hailey, then Sara. ‘We’re going to hold you to that, aren’t we, Soph?’

‘Oh yeah.’ Her sister nodded. ‘And we’ll have to teach you about post-practice rituals too, won’t we?’ Sara caught the sneaky look she flashed at Amelia. ‘Like milkshakes. That’s right, isn’t it, Milly? We always have milkshakes afterwards.’

Amelia’s eyes widened. ‘That’s right, we do. And a McDonald’s. Have to replace all those calories we’ve used up.’

Sara shook her head, laughing, playing along with them. ‘Seems I have a lot to learn. I’ll have to ask your dad for the details.’

The girls glanced at each other in sudden alarm. ‘Oh, you don’t want to bother him,’ Sophia said with a dismissive wave of her hand. ‘He’s too busy doing important stuff.’