Naomi came back to the table with a tray of unpainted teapots and teacups for the children and a large pot of coffee for us. She sat down and laid them all out, calling over to the twins.

All the children came charging back to the table. We fussed over them, encasing them in overalls, and let them loose on the array of paints and brushes laid out on the tables.

Naomi looked over at Peppa. ‘Hello, I’m Naomi. You work with my husband Ronald, don’t you?’

‘Yes, I do. Our paths haven’t crossed much but he seems well liked by everyone.’

‘Oh, that’s so nice to hear. Are you the one he’s f-u-c-k-i-n-g?’ Naomi reached across the table and filled Peppa’s cup up with coffee.

Peppa glanced round at the children painting teapots.

Camilla actually let in a fast intake of air.

‘I . . . I . . . No, Naomi, I’m not,’ Peppa finally said.

We all stared down at the table. I felt the need to break the now painfully loaded tension.

‘Naomi has just found out he’s having s-e-x with someone at work. It’s a difficult time.’

‘I’m leaving him.’ Naomi, took a bite of biscuit. ‘I told him last night.’

On the way over I had scanned the transcript of their conversation. It had been horrible. Daddy Pig stated that he intended to withhold child maintenance and swore to make life as difficult as possible for his ‘ungrateful bitch’ of a wife. He’d been so cold as Naomi sobbed, I had wished he was the Snake so we could pop him and she could be free of him, without the costly lawyer bills that ‘a dumb cow who hadn’t worked in over ten years couldn’t afford’.

She was going through hell but she’d got up this morning, given her children breakfast, fussed over their homework, searched round the house for missing ballet kit and told Daddy Pig he would be spending the day looking after the girls as it was clearly ‘so bloody easy’. Now here she was helping out her friend Kate who was going through her own family trauma. I watched Naomi humming to herself as she helped one of the twins with their paintbrush.

Peppa cleared her throat. ‘If you want any tips on being a single mum you can come to me.’

‘What are they?’

‘First of all, get used to people asking if you’re having s-e-x with their husbands.’

The two women eyeballed each other and then laughed.

‘That’s lovely, darling. Really lovely.’ Camilla adjusted Florence’s large bow hairclip as she admired the painted teapot on the table.

Gigi turned to me. ‘Mama – see?’ She pointed to the teapot in front of her.

‘Yes, Gigi, yours is really lovely too.’