‘Of my parents. Of Mum, especially. She didn’t know. She thought I was her daughter, through and through. And now it’s like I’m looking to replace her with this new mother. I can’t bear to think that she might think… I can’t…’

He squeezes my shoulder. ‘You know it’s not like that. You’re never going to feel any differently about your mum. Nothing that comes in the future can take away what happened in the years you had with her.’

I sniff, nod. I know that’s true. But what I can’t ever know is how she would feel if she knew what I now know: that I wasn’t her real daughter. Would she love me less? And does Dad, now? Can he, in his heart of hearts, think of me in the same way as he did before?

‘I haven’t told Dad I’ve found them,’ I say. ‘But I have to meet her, don’t I? I can’t just walk away from this now.’

He nods. ‘Even if you just meet her once. Then you can move on, knowing what happened. Closure, that’s what they say in America, right?’

‘Closure.’ I ponder the word. A few years ago there was nothing to close. I knew who I was – or at least, I thought I did. It feels so long ago now. So much has changed. I take my head off his shoulder and sit up, looking out at two paddleboarders drifting past us on the placid lake. ‘I wonder where I’d be now, if Dad and I hadn’t stumbled across that blood donation van. I wouldn’t be here, that’s for sure. Still in London, I guess. Still married. Still in my job.’

Jorge looks at me, a smile tugging at his lips. ‘Sounds fucking boring to me.’

I smile back, meeting his eyes with my own. I see that he cares, he really cares, and it feels good. ‘I guess it does,’ I say.

I arrive early in Lutry on the day I’m due to meet her and I don’t know what to do with myself. I walk down the curve of the lake wall towards a bench in the shade, a short distance from the spot where Anna told Julia she wanted to meet me. It’s a baking hot day, but I think I’m sweating more from nerves than from the heat. I can feel the damp under my arms, even in this sundress, which is the lightest thing I own. It’s white with tiny red flowers and I got it on a shopping trip with Mum, five or six years ago.

Go on, I’ll treat you.