Hermione looked up at the familiar voice, sunbeams shooting from her smile. It was Auntie Clementine and Auntie Rima. ‘Look who I found loitering near the station, too,’ Clementine added.

Charlie appeared beside them, triumphantly holding up the arm of the man beside her.

‘I got him here!’ they cried. ‘I got Priyesh here!’

Priyesh, dressed for a child’s birthday party in a suit and tie, smiled. ‘You hardly dragged me here against my own free will, Charlie,’ he said, soberly. ‘I wanted to come and meet the baby. And see the other baby – the café.’

Penny stood and kissed everybody, scooping up Hermione so that they all got baby cuddles, despite the fact that Hermione was very much in an independent phase and didn’t like to be picked up. It was like she knew everybody was there for her, and so for this one Sunday afternoon she allowed herself to be passed from auntie to uncle, friend to friend, gurgling and chattering.

Penny’s phone rang, vibrating against the table with a start. Francesco picked it up and passed it over.

‘Thomas!’ Penny said, swiping open a FaceTime. He appeared on screen, pixelated at first and then slowly coming into focus, sat in what looked like a dressing room next to a woman with big hair and a bright pink dress on.

‘Lizzo and I just wanted to say sorry again for being unable to make it,’ he said.

Lizzo waved down the camera. ‘Hey Penny,’ she said. ‘Happy birthday to your baby girl!’

‘Thank you guys!’ said Penny, scanning the room for Hermione. ‘I actually don’t know where my baby is. She’s being smothered with cuddles left, right and centre! But thank you for the gift. A full playhouse was very generous.’

Thomas laughed. ‘That’s okay. Sorry again. You were very sweet to invite us. We’ll make sure you all get tickets to the next London shows, okay?’

‘Okay! Have a good show, Lizzo!’ said Penny, waving goodbye and putting her phone back down, drinking in the scene of the room. Her uncle and his love, her sister and hers. She was pleased she and Thomas had stayed friends. He called by at Bridges when he was around, and always had an outrageous story to tell from life on the road.

Dofi, the owner of the restaurant Penny and Francesco had met in that night, slid in to the chair next to her and said, ‘I’m so happy for you, Penny. Look at all this! Look at your life!’

Penny grinned.

‘Thank you so much for coming,’ Penny said. ‘God we’ve got so much to catch up on.’

Dofi made a murmur of agreement. ‘We do,’ she said. ‘And not that I’m not desperate to hear your news but first, can you tell me more about the man in the suit? He’s hysterical – he just had me in stitches with a joke about three penguins and a llama.’