‘Yes, well, I’ve learnt a thing or two over the years. And I don’t think you’re up to another go.’

‘He’s right,’ Elle said. ‘Let’s go off and do something else, Penny. Dad can hardly make a bigger mess of it than we did.’

In the end, Penny was too exhausted for more chores and Elle felt they’d done enough for one day, so the two of them curled up on the couch in the family sitting room and watched an old black and white film on TV.

They must have seen it a thousand times when they were children. They had loved the slapstick, the valiant efforts of the hero to get the object of his affection to notice him. Watching it made them both feel calm and safe. And closer.

When it was over, they decided to check on Ned.

‘You know he won’t have been able to do it. With the way things are going, we’ll be lucky if he doesn’t burn the kitchen down.’

‘I know.’ At this point it seemed everything without Anna was just impossible.

But to their surprise they found him in the kitchen gently sandwiching together perfect meringues. So perfect they were like plump, fluffy little brides.

‘See,’ he told them, while Penny stared, mouth agape. ‘It’s surprising what I’ve picked up from watching your mother. I’ve actually quite enjoyed myself.’

In the end, the evening went off reasonably well. Ned took over the kitchen duties, immersed in his new found-role of stand-in chef. ‘I’m actually afraid he might throw a tea towel at me if I make one more mistake,’ Penny told Elle, only half joking.

Elle waited the tables: the husband and wife on their anniversary and another young couple who had just come up from the town for dinner.

‘It’s our first weekend away together,’ said the girl to Elle, who had to force a smile at her enthusiasm. And it will probably make you or break you, she though silently.

Elle had been to enough restaurants to know how things were done. She poured wine and carried plates perfectly. She knew when to ask if there was anything else and when to stay away.

The older couple ate in a pleasant routine, sometimes saying something to make the other smile, as if carrying on a conversation they had been having for years. The young couple were obviously more excited, more nervous, more preoccupied with making conversation. Had she and Rob been like that back then, Elle wondered. Most likely. That nervousness had all been a part of it, the shaking of her hands and fluttering of her stomach letting her know she felt something.

All in all, she thought, she preferred the easy companionship of the older couple. It was no less real for being a bit more comfortable, she mused.