‘Did you buy it in a charity shop? They often have missing pieces.’

Andrea shook her head. ‘My dad give it to me for Christmas. We always give each other a new jigsaw.’

She was right, though; Meredith sifted through the few dozen pieces left in the box, but none had a baby’s face on them. They were all cherry blossom.

‘It must be on the floor somewhere.’ Meredith leaned down and peered beneath the table. ‘Could it have fallen through a crack in the decking?’

Andrea shrugged. ‘Must have done. Is annoying.’ She paused. ‘And worrying.’

‘Worrying?’

Her hand flew to her belly, and she rubbed it gently, looking embarrassed. ‘I think is omen.’

Meredith had forgotten how superstitious she was. ‘Oh Andrea! Of course it’s not an omen. You mustn’t think like that, you’ll drive yourself crazy.’

She wondered if it would be insensitive or non-PC to suggest it might be Andrea’s hormones. She’d never really known any pregnant women before and, obviously, hadn’t ever been one herself. But was that the accepted wisdom, that your hormones went berserk? Or maybe that was after the birth … She wasn’t sure.

‘How many weeks are you now?’ she asked instead.

‘Twenty-two,’ Andrea replied, smiling properly. ‘And he just kick me.’

She was such a beautiful woman, with delicate bone structure and high cheekbones. For the first time Meredith realised with a slight shock that she reminded her of Samantha. If her colouring hadn’t been so different – dark, instead of a Celtic-looking freckly redhead – they’d have looked quite similar. It was the smile, the figure and the profile. She studied her, thinking about Samantha, wondering what ever happened to her. She hadn’t seen her for more than thirty years. Strange how she didn’t find Andrea sexually attractive, seeing as she’d found Samantha irresistible. But that was probably just because Samantha always looked at her as if she was the most beautiful woman in the world. She, Meredith, had been young and naïve, lapping it up. Meredith always wondered if she would ever have had any sort of gay relationship if she’d never met Samantha. She hadn’t since.

‘Want to feel?’

‘He’s letting you know he’s fine,’ Meredith said, reaching out her hand and tentatively touching Andrea’s taut stomach through the layer of cotton jersey. ‘Wow! That’s amazing. I’ve never felt a baby kick before.’

For some reason it made her think of Ralph again, and she had to swallow hard. He’d been desperate for grandchildren, even though Jackson was only twenty. ‘Give the poor boy a chance!’ Paula and Meredith used to tease.

‘So what is matter, Meredith?’

Meredith sat back in her chair and stared out over the water, watching a lone rower power past, and three ducks flying in a V formation towards the setting sun.