Penny wanted to kill him. ‘Oh for goodness’ sake . . .’ But she was way too relieved to be annoyed. ‘Is that really it?’ she said, moving closer to Ned to take a closer look at the single. ‘The one Mum gave you on your wedding day?’

Her father held the record carefully, as if afraid it might break, or worse, be snatched away from him again. ‘I really never thought I would see this again,’ he said quietly. ‘I should never have parted with it in the first place.’

‘It’s yours now, Dad. It was always yours. And Mum will always be too.’

Ned ran a delicate hand over the front cover before flipping it over. Just like on the other albums, a small red sticker had been placed in the top right-hand corner. On it were the initials ‘NH’ along with a date. September 26th. Her parent’s wedding anniversary.

Ned returned his eyes to his daughter’s. ‘Thank you, Penny. I’ve never thanked you properly. For doing this.’

She smiled. And she knew that she would do it all again – for her dad.

‘And thank you too, Colin,’ said Ned. He didn’t express anything specific, but she got the distinct impression that he was thanking him for more than just his help in finding the collection.

Suddenly, Penny recalled something else about this particular record that had been written in her mother’s diary. ‘Oh, I remember Mum said something else, in her diary, about this one. She said it was signed. Is that true?’

Ned smiled. ‘Yes. That’s right. Look.’ He pulled the record from the sleeve and in the centre on the label, were four signatures.

John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr.

Examining the iconic names, Penny realised a new appreciation for the music – in a way, it had been responsible for bringing her parents together. Ned had been right: the songs were a form of poetry. They were modern sonnets – declarations of love. And ultimately, Penny also considered the thought that these records were also a catalyst for her own love story. The one she was just setting out on with Colin.

‘That’s wonderful, Dad,’ Penny whispered over his shoulder.

‘I know. Your mum was wonderful too,’ Ned said.

From behind where they stood, Wally cleared his throat politely. ‘If you all would like, you could play it. I have another turntable upstairs.’

‘Would you like to play the record, Dad?’ Penny asked, wondering if he might prefer to do so in private. But Ned nodded his head in affirmation as he continued to look at the record.