‘Oh, my darlings!’ she cried, her cheeks already damp with tears. ‘It is so good to see you!’ She crouched down so that she was at eye-level with Elodie. ‘Hello, you little poppet!’ She threw her arms wide so that Elodie could step into her embrace and pulled her into a tight hug. ‘You are so, so pretty!’

Elodie beamed, but had a sudden bout of shyness and pulled away, before gripping Ben’s leg and pressing her face into his thigh. There was a fleeting glimmer of sadness in Jo’s eyes before she recovered herself and stood up to hug Ben. She held him tightly for several seconds and Ben was momentarily overcome by the familiar, soapy smell of her hair and the light, citrusy scent that she had worn for as long as he could remember. ‘Hello, my darling boy,’ she murmured, before pulling away and holding him at arm’s length, where she looked at him appraisingly. ‘You look thin.’

Ben smiled ruefully. ‘So do you, Mum.’ It was true. Although Jo had always been slim, she had still had a curvy figure and cute apple cheeks. Now, the curves were gone and her cheekbones were razor-sharp. It aged her.

Jo smiled and Ben was struck by the fact that her eyes no longer shone the way they used to. It was like a light had gone out. ‘Well, it’s a good job I’ve bought enough food to fatten a family of ten then, isn’t it? We can both work on putting on some weight while you’re here. Come on in!’

Ben took Elodie’s hand and led her up the steps and through the front door. As soon as they stepped over the threshold, Ben stopped abruptly, as a wall of grief, triggered by a lifetime of memories, threatened to overwhelm him.

Jo, who was walking ahead of them along the hallway, turned and looked at him in concern. ‘What’s the matter, Ben? Are you OK?’

Ben shook his head, the urge to cry was unstoppable but he didn’t want to alarm Elodie. Jo seemed to understand and reached out her hand. ‘Hey, Elodie, do you want to see what sweeties I’ve got especially for you?’

Elodie immediately dropped Ben’s hand and took Jo’s, before toddling happily with her into the kitchen, all shyness forgotten with the promise of sweets.

Ben took several deep breaths but there was no stopping the torrent of tears that had been lying dormant, waiting for their moment to fall. He crouched down and put his hands over his face, letting the grief for his father that he had never really acknowledged, had never been allowed to acknowledge, finally pour out.

After a while, he felt steady enough to stand. He stumbled into the cloakroom and leaned over the sink, where he splashed his hot face with soothing cold water and washed away the last vestiges of tears. He looked up and gazed at himself in the mirror, imagining how he must look through his mum’s eyes. He had certainly changed a lot physically, since the last time he was here for his father’s funeral.