‘But I’m only saying it because I know that somewhere deep inside, you’ve still got the capacity to have some festive fun. Your reaction when you opened that envelope this morning was proof enough of that.’

She was silent then, sitting with her pencil poised and wearing a neutral expression. I knew exactly the game she was playing. She was waiting for me to make a suggestion and if I didn’t, we’d end up sitting there all night.

‘Well I suppose I could think of something,’ I caved after about a minute and a half.

‘Marvellous.’

‘But only if we do it together.’

‘Together?’

‘Yes,’ I insisted, ‘we’ll both add things to the list.’

If I was going to have to go along with the idea, then she was going to have to join in too.

‘But I’ve always done everything I’ve ever wanted at Christmas,’ Dolly frowned. ‘You know that.’

‘Those are my terms,’ I told her. ‘A joint list, or no list at all.’

Dolly chewed the end of her pencil and rubbed her forehead.

‘Oh, oh,’ she gasped a few seconds later. ‘Actually, there is something I would love to see.’

‘Right then,’ I said feeling pleased to have drawn her in and caught her in the web she had spun for me, ‘you’d better write it down.’

We spent the rest of the evening compiling a list of all the things I had missed out on in recent years. Dolly came up with far more than I did and lots of them were silly things like wearing a Christmas jumper, but she said they were every bit as important as the bigger things because they all formed part of the spirit of the season.

‘I think that’s going to be my highlight,’ Dolly sighed, as she re-read her wish to take a trip to the Norfolk coast. She was hoping to spot some of the pink-footed geese which visited there every winter. ‘If we can find a way to get there, that is.’

‘I’m sure we’ll manage it,’ I told her.

Truth be told I was more interested in ticking off the things Dolly had added for herself than working through what she had included for me. As lovely as her idea was, I knew it was going to take a whole lot more than wearing a spangly sweater to get me in a merry mood.

‘Is that it then?’ I yawned. ‘Surely, that has to be enough to be going on with for now?’

‘There is just one more thing,’ said Dolly.

‘What?’

She looked up from her notes and fixed me with a serious stare.

‘I know this isn’t the first time I’ve said it recently, but more than anything,’ she said, ‘I want you to get back in touch with your parents, Hattie.’

I shook my head. She couldn’t add that, it had nothing to do with Christmas.