Music was playing in the background. Staff, obviously deciding the café was too quiet, turned the volume up as a song Jodie recognised came on. She rocked the baby in her arms and smiled as she hummed along to the old Dean Martin classic, whispering the last words of the refrain, that’s amore, her eyes softening as she remembered. It had been playing that day she and Flynn had met. A different café. A different time.

If she’d known then what she knew now… the baby in her arms snuffled softly, Jodie cooed soft nonsense words, then looked back to where Flynn was swaying gently in time to the music.

The refrain of the song faded away on the final simple words, that’s amore.

That’s love. That was what it came down to, wasn’t it? What you were willing to do for love. She stared at Flynn, the man for whom she’d sacrificed so much, and for whom she’d gladly sacrifice more, and thought back to the first time they’d met…

2

The café on Queen Street had been Jodie’s favourite place to stop for coffee in Gravesend, not because the coffee was particularly good, which it was, but they did the most divine pastries. It was her place to go for a treat when life had been tough or tiring, or as it had been that morning, both. It was popular with a lot of people for the same reason, and that day everyone must have had a bad morning because the place was heaving.

The café was too small for the luxury of keeping a table all to yourself and Jodie smiled at the woman who quickly moved her shopping bags to allow Jodie to share her table.

‘Thanks,’ she said gratefully and put down the tray carrying her filled-to-the-brim cappuccino and custard cream slice before she flopped onto the chair with a sigh.

‘No problem.’ The woman gave her a sympathetic look. ‘You look like you might have had a tough day.’

Jodie was a nurse, virtually every day was tough, some days were simply worse than others. When she’d left her job in Guy’s Hospital for a small nursing home in Gravesend, she thought she was taking a step down for a quieter life. It hadn’t turned out that way.

It was obvious the woman was waiting for an answer but Jodie wasn’t in the mood for conversation. Instead, she pointed towards the custard cream slice. ‘It’ll be better after I finish this.’ She concentrated on her pastry and coffee and a few minutes later she saw the woman gather her bags and leave, murmuring a quiet, ‘Goodbye, have a better afternoon’ as she left. Jodie didn’t feel guilty. She’d had to deal with a succession of difficult relatives all morning, her store of patience and polite chit-chat was empty.