If anything, Peter took the estrangement even harder than she did. He and Ben had always been extremely close and he seemed to be finding it almost impossible to process why his only son would cut them off so abruptly. He wasn’t sleeping, he had lost weight and his blood pressure had shot up. Jo knew it was all stress-related and yet she was utterly helpless to do anything about it. Only a call from Ben would put things right.

By the time the invitation to visit came, she had almost given up hope. She was at home one evening, staring unseeingly at a drama on the television that she was only vaguely following, when her mobile rang. She glanced at the screen and did a double-take as his home number flashed up. Once upon a time it was a mundane, sometimes even unwelcome sight. Now, it was as if she had won the lottery. Almost not daring to believe it, she answered the call. Hearing his voice after so long brought instant tears to her eyes, especially as he sounded so normal, as if everything was just as it ever was.

And now here they were, on their way to visit them for the very first time since Elodie was born. Jo ran her hands over her jeans, hoping they wouldn’t still be sweating when she held her. It was so daft, to worry about how to hold a baby when she had managed to bring up two children of her own quite happily. But she knew her every move would be under scrutiny and she couldn’t afford to make any more slip-ups.

They pulled up outside the red brick Victorian block that housed Ben’s flat. Peter turned off the ignition and turned towards Jo. ‘Well, here goes …’

Jo nodded, not trusting herself to speak, reassured that Peter was obviously as nervous as she was. She gathered the flowers and presents from the boot before making their way to the front door. Just as Peter was about to ring the bell, the door swung open and Ben was in front of them.

‘Hi, Mum, hi, Dad.’ He hesitated before reaching out to give Peter a hug. ‘You’ve lost weight, Dad, are you OK?’

Peter smiled, although it didn’t reach his eyes, and nodded. ‘I am now.’

It always made Jo feel emotional when she saw her husband and son embrace and today even more so, as it seemed to hold so much more meaning. ‘Hello, darling, these are for Bella – and Elodie.’ Jo thrust the bag of presents and flowers towards Ben, feeling awkward and shy.

Ben grinned. ‘Thanks, Mum, come on in!’

They followed him into the flat, nervously looking around for Bella. ‘Bella’s just put Elodie down for her lunchtime nap,’ Ben said, pre-empting the question. ‘She’ll be out in a minute.’

Jo exhaled as she sat down gingerly on the soft taupe sofa. Peter joined her. ‘So … cup of tea?’ Ben offered. They both nodded gratefully.