Shivering, Charlotte took her bag from the boot and crunched her way over the gravel towards the heavy, grey-painted front door. Just as she was about to ring the bell, it swung open and Jo stood in front of her. ‘Charlie!’ she cried, reaching out to embrace Charlotte in a tight hug. ‘I am so happy to see you.’

Charlotte hugged her in return, aware of how diminished Jo seemed since she had last seen her. She pulled back and looked at her closely. ‘Hello, Jo. It’s good to see you too, although you’ve lost too much weight.’

Jo smiled, but the smile didn’t reach her blue eyes, which had dulled and lost their sparkle. ‘You sound like Emma. She’s always telling me that, too – talk about ironic.’

Charlotte grinned ruefully. Emma’s anorexia had stabilized in recent years and she seemed to have got it under control but none of them would ever forget the horror of when she was in its fiercest grip.

‘Anyway, come on in!’ Jo motioned with her arm and ushered Charlotte into the cool flag-stoned entrance.

Charlotte followed her down the long hallway towards the kitchen, thinking how tiny she looked in such a vast space. The house had never seemed too big when there were lots of them to fill it but with just Jo there, it felt enormous and echoey.

Charlotte perched at the island while Jo made her a cup of tea. ‘Matt and Freya aren’t far behind me. They’ll be here in about an hour.’

Jo nodded as she put a mug in front of Charlotte. ‘I can’t wait to see them. And meet Bertie – it’ll be so lovely to have children here again …’ Her voice dropped away and Charlotte could tell that she was thinking about Elodie.

‘Do you not see much of Elodie?’ Charlotte took a sip of her tea, savouring its comforting warmth. Jo always did make the best cup of tea.

Jo perched on a stool and shook her head sadly. ‘Only on FaceTime. When Bella’s out, presumably.’

Charlotte’s insides constricted with guilt. ‘I’m so sorry, Jo. I don’t know what to say.’

Jo shrugged. ‘There’s nothing anyone can say. But,’ she adopted a stoic expression, ‘you being here is such a wonderful tonic. Makes me feel like I’m not completely alone.’

‘I wish you’d called me sooner.’

Jo nodded. ‘So do I, but I couldn’t face the embarrassment of admitting that I haven’t seen my own son for months.’

‘You must have seen them at Christmas, though?’

Jo shook her head. ‘No. Ben got so panicked when I suggested that they might come here that I didn’t push it. He seems in such a bad way, Charlie …’ Tears that Charlotte could see were never far from the surface spilled down Jo’s cheeks and she swept them away, looking defeated.

‘In a bad way … how? Do you mean he seems depressed?’ Charlotte pictured Ben on the day of the funeral. Even back then he had looked different but she couldn’t put her finger on exactly what had changed. He seemed anxious, which was understandable on the day of his father’s funeral. But it was more than that.