Matt gives me a subtle wink. I’m glad he’s enjoying himself. This evening would be much harder if he hadn’t clicked with our visitors.

‘So…’ Matt turns to Shaun, ‘are you working down here? Or do you have to commute back to London?’

Shaun has his mouth full so he can’t answer right away. Kate jumps in for him. ‘Shaun’s a builder. He does extensions and renovations, that kind of thing. Now we’re in Dorset, he’ll be starting from scratch, building up his contacts.’

‘I thought London was booming,’ Matt says. ‘You won’t be able to charge the same rates here, you know that, right?’

‘Matt’s an electrician,’ I add.

‘Yeah?’ Shaun suddenly looks interested. ‘Maybe you can hook me up with some other trades? I’m looking for new contacts.’

Matt nods. ‘Happy to, mate.’

They turn to one another and start talking in more depth about the Dorset building industry. I turn to Kate. ‘So, how’s your job hunt going?’ I know from our previous chats that Kate is looking for work, but she hasn’t gone into any detail.

‘Honestly, I have no idea what I’m looking for!’ She flushes. ‘I’ve never really had a proper job before. I was always too busy with the children. How do you balance the café with the kids?’

I tell her about my shifts and how I slot them in around childcare. She seems interested and almost impressed. Which is strange, because it’s just a regular job.

‘I really have no idea who would employ me,’ she says. ‘Could you let me know if you hear of anything going, preferably something that doesn’t require any qualifications or experience?’ She laughs.

‘Don’t sell yourself short.’ I move my food around my bowl, not feeling at all hungry. I take a few large sips of my wine instead. ‘You’ve raised a family – that takes a lot of hard work and dedication. And you’ve got three children. It’s hard enough with two. Not sure how people with three children do it!’ I force myself to say that, because, of course, I would give anything to have my three children.

‘It’s no hardship. I love my kids,’ Kate replies with a dreamy expression. ‘It’s all I’ve ever wanted – to be a mother.’

‘Did you always plan to have three?’

‘I would have had more if I could. But I was really ill when I was pregnant with Kieran. Had to spend the last few months on total bedrest, which wasn’t fun. Especially as I had Bella and Amy to look after. Shaun isn’t exactly the domestic type.’ She rolls her eyes indulgently. ‘So we made the decision to stop at three.’

‘So your first two pregnancies went okay, before Kieran?’ The wine is taking the edge off my earlier nervousness.