‘I thought we’d continue to be united by the things that life threw at us.’ His tone is now softer and I can see he’s making a concerted effort to verbalise his feelings. ‘Each step can sometimes feel like a hurdle, Fern, and we know that only too well. We’ve had some great highs and a couple of massive lows, admittedly, but we’ve always pulled through it together.’

He’s trying to reassure me because he wants this conversation to be over. Ducking and diving won’t help, Aiden – we need to get to the bottom of what’s wrong.

‘It’s not something we can continue to ignore, though, is it?’ I know it sounds challenging, but now we’re actually talking openly, there’s no turning back.

‘I can’t seem to find the right words to explain how I feel, so I’m not surprised you don’t understand. All I know is that I love you, I really do, and I’m gutted to think I’m upsetting you, babe.’

Eventually he looks up and what I see as our eyes meet is a look of desperation, then it softens.

‘Do you remember when we bumped into each other at the school dance and just like that,’ he clicks his fingers, ‘we knew something had changed? Something big was happening.’

I’m thinking that collided would be a more appropriate word. And it wasn’t just a dance, it was a full-blown prom. We were all excitable sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds. It was the first time we’d ever spoken because Aiden mixed with the sporty crowd and I was one of the geeks in those days.

I nod, not wanting to interrupt him.

‘I remember our first date, three days later, and you phoned me the following day to say that your dad said you couldn’t see me again. All because I’d brought you home an hour late and I’d blasted the car horn three times as I pulled away. Lights went on all around the quiet little cul-de-sac that night. But I was showing off because I wanted to impress you and I was wildly happy.’

Back then, I was looking forward to starting an A-level course at the progressive Amersley College in the autumn. Dad, a natural-born worrier, thought Aiden was rather cocky and overconfident, so it wasn’t the best start. But, as the years passed, he realised he had gained another son, a man he could trust to take care of his often stubborn daughter.

Aiden continues. ‘And you said, “But I don’t care, because nothing is going to stop me from seeing you,” and you meant it. That made me feel invincible. Nothing in life would ever throw me again because I’d found my soulmate. Two is stronger than one.’