The words burst in from the living room and brought with them a horrible realisation: He’s calling his parents. The night before we’d agreed to call his today. Out of our respective relatives, they were the trickier customers and so, bloated on bubbles and bright-eyed feelings, we’d agreed to tell them before telling mine. And he’s coming good on the promise, I thought as I threw back the duvet and climbed out of bed. I plodded to the bathroom and considered nesting there. But I couldn’t spend the entire Skype call hidden away. To start with, Rowan would think I was having an IBS flare-up; and second, Mum had raised me better than to ignore my in-laws.

I heard the ringer for the video call, so quickly pulled my hair into a ponytail – and arranged my face in a suitable smile. Rowan tapped the seat next to him when I walked into the living room.

‘Come on, it’ll be fine.’

‘Rowan, dear.’ I heard her before I could see her. ‘Oh, and Edith.’ My stomach turned at the thought of her being able to see me already; like she was some kind of wildlife predator, higher up the food chain. The screen flickered then, though, and both his parents came into view. Rowan’s dad was smiling. Rowan’s mum was the sort of woman who surely asked her facial technician to make it impossible for her to smile – or frown. ‘It’s so lovely to see you both.’

‘You’re looking well,’ Gregory said – always Gregory, never Greg, I had learnt early on – although it wasn’t clear whether he was speaking to one or both of us. ‘Wonderful to be able to have a chat, too. Penny and I are delighted with the news, of course. Marvellous, just – truly, a huge congratulations to you both.’

When did he tell them? I tried to keep my face neutral. But for them to already know, he must have told them before he called. And if he told them before he called then he must have broken our pact from the night before and, what, texted them?

‘Thanks so much, Dad.’

‘Thanks, Gregory.’ The excitement overrode the irritation, and I was painfully aware of the growing grin that gave me the appearance of a woman who’d slept with a hanger in her mouth. ‘It was such a beautiful surprise.’

Meanwhile, Penny managed to raise something that wasn’t quite a grunt, as though even being disinterested was too much cheer for the occasion. ‘A surprise for us, too,’ she said, although the remark went uncommented on.