‘Yes, very much so, but I grew up knowing I was adopted, and I often wondered about you, of course. My parents said you were very young, but they didn’t know anything about my father. Can you tell me about him?’

Shelly sipped her drink, then blew through pursed lips. ‘I’ll tell you as much as I can about David each time we meet, but you must be patient, you’re not going to hear the whole story straight off.’ He nodded again. ‘There will be times when I won’t be able to talk about him at all, but rest assured, you will come to know and understand him.’

‘Can I ask you some questions?’

She thought for a moment. ‘Yes, of course. I realise you need answers. I was in that position myself once. The pain’s intense, isn’t it? And the bitterness, I was bitter for years.’ He nodded. The old distress rose and she battled against it. ‘It’s so unfair,’ she whispered. ‘And it hurts so bad. But that pain made me determined to be my own boss and rule my own life. Nobody was ever going to tell me what to do again. Perhaps I overreacted.’

‘How do you mean?’

‘Well, the world and his wife said I couldn’t look after you by myself, with no family support. So I spent the next nineteen years proving them wrong. I’m desperate for you to understand that I didn’t simply cast you aside for the sake of convenience.

‘The loss of my mother, then David, and then you, and in a way my dad too, was too much pain for any young girl to take. Soon, severe depression set in. Although I was little more than a child when you were taken from me, I had one consolation – you were in the safe care of a loving family.

‘They said I had post-natal depression, but they never really understood. Slowly but surely, I came back from that dark pit and made a success of my life. I’m proud of that. However, losing you and your father has never quite left me. Twenty years later, and I’m still dealing with it and I know, for the moment, this isn’t making any sense to you, but I promise it will.’

‘I’m just realising how brave you’ve been to tackle this. Do you mind if I call you Mum? It feels a little odd, and of course I do have another Mum, in Australia, but nothing else would feel right. Better to get used to it from the start, I think.’

‘I’d like that very much. So long as you don’t mind my tears now and again.’