I wish I could laugh, but my eyes are on my lovely husband, who steps forward rather nervously. He turns to look at me and I saunter up to him as he reaches out for my hand. It’s ironic that as soon as we sorted out what the next step was going to be, things have been almost back to normal between us. I give his hand a reassuring squeeze to spur him on.

‘Well, the only person missing today to hear our announcement is Fern’s brother, Owen, but he’s here in spirit, even if the reality is that he’s probably trekking up a mountainside on some sort of endurance course.’ A little ripple of laughter does the rounds. ‘But to have you all gathered here together today means so much to us both. This party isn’t about celebrating our recent lottery win, but the importance we place upon the people who matter the most to us – family and friends.

‘We’d like to kick off by asking you all to raise your glasses.’ He turns to smile at me, lifting my hand to his mouth and kissing the back of it. ‘Over to you for the toast, my darling.’

The look we exchange is one of determination as I gaze back at him. Having made the decision, the change in Aiden is unbelievable.

‘It’s been a wonderful journey so far and we feel blessed to have such an amazing and supportive bunch of people around us. Here’s to you all and a special toast to my baby sister, Hannah, who will be nineteen next week. Happy birthday, sis!’

The response is a loud chorus of ‘hear, hear’ and gentle clinking of glasses after Steve’s little disaster.

‘We’re both very aware that it isn’t money and having things that make people happy. Although the lack of it is a problem when you are trying to convince a bank to loan you an extortionate amount of money; we found that out at the start of the long road to buying this place. But with the help of some loving parents,’ I tip my glass in the appropriate directions, ‘we eventually signed on the dotted line.’ I hesitate for a second, then pull myself together determinedly. I agreed to this and now it’s too late to back out. ‘Being able to pay back what we borrowed, be mortgage-free and have a little nest egg is the dream and we realise just how lucky we are. Sharing is caring, of course, so our three favourite charities will each receive a nice little donation and that means a lot to us both.’

A loud, endorsing ‘ah’ carries around the room.