When would it end? she thought, gripping the steering wheel as she drove her parents home. What else would be flung at them? Paula felt, more strongly than ever, that she had to step up and try to get things straight again, to be there for whoever needed her. Jeanie being away for so long had made her realize just how much her mum did for the family; how she was the glue that held them together. From now on, Paula was determined to share some of that responsibility, not least to give her mum a bit of a break.

‘Here we are,’ she said, parking outside her parents’ house a while later. ‘Now listen, don’t go worrying about Dave and Bunny, okay? I’ll keep on top of the situation and let you know anything I hear. You just unpack and have a rest, get the kettle on. Oh – I should have thought to pick up some milk for you—’

‘No need,’ her dad said, heaving his case out of the boot. ‘I went and bought a few bits and pieces earlier in the week. Ran the Hoover round as well. What?’ he laughed, seeing Paula and Jeanie both staring at him in surprise. ‘Nothing wrong with a man wanting to look after his wife and home, is there?’

‘Nothing wrong at all,’ Paula said, blinking at this unexpected turn of events. Sure, she’d been a bit sharp with him about tidying up after himself while he’d been staying with her, she supposed, and she’d ticked him off for not thinking about Jeanie, but . . . Well. This was a turn-up for the books.

Harry twinkled his eyes at her. ‘Our daughter put me straight on a few things,’ he told Jeanie. ‘And I’m going to do more around the house to help from now on, you just wait. I might even make you a cheese omelette for your tea.’

‘Whoa,’ said Paula, who wasn’t aware that he’d so much as cracked an egg before. ‘Steady on there. Are you sure about this, Dad?’

‘Your Luke’s been giving me a few tips,’ he replied. ‘Proper good cook, that lad is, isn’t he? I texted him while I was away, asked him for something to cook that even an old fella like me might be able to manage, and he sent me back a recipe. Not just women’s work, Grandad, he said to me. That put me in my place.’

‘Well, I never,’ Jeanie said faintly, smiling at Paula, who raised her eyebrows comically in return. ‘Sounds like I owe your Luke a few favours for all this. Tell him I’ll be over with a very nice present from my holiday soon, all right?’ She hugged Paula and gave her a kiss on the cheek. ‘Ooh, I missed you, love. It’s good to be back. And thanks for everything. What would I do without you?’