‘He is Nathan’s, isn’t he, Sandra? I can tell by looking at him. Does Nathan know?’ She asked, her tone softer now, trying to convey to the other woman that she wasn’t angry – not with her at least.

Sandra nodded, tears pricking her eyes. ‘He doesn’t want anything to do with him though. With either of us. I’m so sorry, Grace. I was a kid. I was stupid. I don’t know what else to say.’

Grace placed her hand over the younger woman’s. ‘I don’t blame you. He saw lots of other women. Got at least one other pregnant,’ she added, recalling the mouthy blonde who’d come to the pub on Christmas Eve all those years ago. Screeching like a banshee and demanding to know why Nathan hadn’t left his frigid bitch of a wife after she’d aborted their baby like he’d asked. It had led to an almighty row and the worst hiding Nathan had ever inflicted on her. She’d thought she was going to die. But thankfully it had been the last too. It was the proverbial straw that had broken the camel’s back.

At Grace’s words, Sandra broke down in tears and told her everything. How Nathan had threatened her. How he’d paid her off and how ashamed she was that she’d taken his money. Grace listened intently, wondering if her ex-husband had any idea of the destruction he left in his wake. Sandra told her she was struggling to find work. She’d used the money Nathan gave her to move out of the flat she was in and was in a nicer area, but that money had long gone and she was struggling on benefits.

‘I really want to work, Grace. It’s just so hard to find something to fit around school hours.’

Grace’s heart almost broke looking at this young woman and her son. She remembered how bubbly and vivacious Sandra had been. How confident she once was. Yes, she had made a play for a married man, but it was Nathan who had vowed to be faithful, not the women he screwed around with.

‘Well a friend of mine is looking for someone to answer the phones for a few hours a day. You could do that, couldn’t you?’

‘Yes. Yes, of course.’ Sandra nodded furiously.

That’s how Sandra ended up working for Grace’s accountant, Ivan. Five hours a day while Eddie was in school. A few years later she’d left and her experience from that job had enabled her to get her current one as a doctor’s receptionist, which she loved, and which was where she met her husband, Richie.