Absent-mindedly, I kiss the tops of my children’s heads as we reach the playground gates. Charlie gallops in, full of his usual energy, but Jess is downcast, her head bowed, the drizzle making her hair wavier than usual. I want to run after her and give her a hug, but she wouldn’t thank me for being so affectionate in front of all the other kids. There’s definitely something up with Jess this morning. And she was moody last night as well. I’ll have to speak to her tonight. Find out what’s going on. It’s not like her to be so withdrawn.

With my mind so full of Holly and the Morrises, I’ve been neglecting Jess and Charlie. I need to spend some good, quality time with them. At least it’s the holidays soon so they’ll be at home and we can plan some fun activities.

‘Rachel, glad I caught you.’

I turn to see Heidi, one of my school-mum friends, her grey eyes and warm smile a welcome sight. ‘Heidi! How are you? Feel like I haven’t seen you for ages.’

She laughs. ‘I’m fine. And I know what you mean. I’ve been trying to catch you for days. We keep missing one another.’

It’s my fault we haven’t spoken for a while. I was so obsessed with making friends with Kate that I haven’t had time to catch up with my other friends. ‘Everything okay with you and Ella?’

‘Yes, fine. All a bit manic now that we’re getting to the end of term. We’ve got the Christmas Fayre next week. I wanted to ask – are you able to man one of the stalls for an hour or two? It’s after school on Wednesday.’ Heidi runs the PTA for Wareham Park Middle School and although she doesn’t work, she’s always a bit frazzled, as it can be as demanding as a full-time job – especially near the end of term when there are all kinds of fundraising events to organise.

‘Yes, sure, I can do a couple of hours. Text me the times you need me.’

‘You’re a lifesaver.’ Heidi exhales. ‘Thank you. I thought I had everything covered, but I had a few people drop out last week.’

‘I’ll ask Matt to help as well, if you need him.’

‘Yes please. Amazing.’ She puts a hand to her heart. ‘You’ve just saved me a boatload of stress. Thanks, Rachel. Anyway, I’ve got to go and drop these forms in at the office now, but we’ll catch up soon, yes?’

‘Definitely.’