Jo was in the kitchen, sitting at the island with two mugs of tea in front of her. The smile died on her lips as soon as she looked up and saw Ben’s face. ‘What’s happened?’ she asked, in voice that was heavy with dread.

Ben ran his hands through his hair. ‘That was Bella on the phone …’

‘I gathered,’ Jo cut in, her face rigid.

Ben swallowed. ‘Well, she’s got terrible pains in her stomach and she’s feeling really unwell. She thinks she may be having a miscarriage.’

A wave of different emotions passed over Jo’s face. Shock, followed by fear, followed by horror. ‘She’s pregnant?’ she whispered, her eyes wide.

Ben swallowed hard, still hardly able to comprehend it himself, let alone digest how he felt about it. ‘Well, we don’t know for sure … We didn’t know,’ he corrected himself. ‘But she thinks she could be having a miscarriage and she’s begged me to come home …’ he tailed off apologetically.

Jo looked aghast. ‘What, now?’

Ben nodded. ‘I’m afraid so. I’m so sorry, Mum, but she did sound like she’s in a bad way and I can’t not be with her if … if she’s losing our baby.’ He didn’t want Jo to argue with him. Now that he had agreed to go home, he just wanted to get in his car and get there as quickly as possible.

‘But Elodie’s in bed asleep. You can’t wake her up and cart her off, it’s not fair!’ Jo’s expression was a mixture of anger and confusion, as if she had been disturbed in the middle of the night and was trying to comprehend what was happening through the deep fog of sleep.

‘She won’t wake up. I’ll transfer her to her car-seat and she won’t know any different. She always sleeps like a log in the car.’

Jo’s face crumpled. ‘Oh, Ben!’ she cried piteously. ‘Please don’t go. It took so long to get you here and I feel like if you leave, you’ll never come back!’ She put her hands over her face as the tears began to flow.

Ben’s resolve immediately wavered, torn between hurting his mum and racing to the aid of his sick wife. He walked over to Jo and put his arms around her heaving shoulders. ‘Mum, look at me.’ He put one hand under her chin and forced her to look up at him, as the tears poured down her cheeks. ‘I promise you that I will be back for another visit within the month. I am never letting this situation happen again. Seeing how amazing you are with Elodie has shown me how ridiculous it was to leave it so long. I am going to make sure we visit regularly from now on.’

‘But Bella …’ Jo shook her head helplessly. ‘She won’t let you. She hates me and she doesn’t want you to have anything to do with me.’ She broke down sobbing again.

Ben’s insides twisted in anguish. ‘Please don’t get upset, Mum. I’m going to sort things out with Bella and tell her in no uncertain terms that even if she doesn’t come with us, Elodie and I are going to be seeing you once a month from now on. It’s non-negotiable.’ He gave her shoulders a reassuring squeeze. ‘OK?’