At the mother and baby clinic, when other mothers complained about lack of sleep, Claire refrained from sharing her good fortune and instead, she listened to stories of sleep deprivation, feeding every three hours and babies screaming when placed in the cot. She couldn’t imagine it, but having got to know the other mothers so well, she realised how lucky she was to have a baby like Joshua. And since then, he’d rarely given them any trouble. He’d been an open book.

Until last year.

He’d just moved into sixth-form college and Claire had been stunned by the sudden mood swings, backchat, arguments and excessive use of his mobile phone. Those things had been difficult enough but what followed had been horrendous and Claire tried not to think about it. Since starting back at sixth-form college for his second year, things had much improved, but Claire still worried.

At the time, she had suspected it was something to do with a girlfriend. She hadn’t been sure, but she remembered one night, almost twelve months ago, as they were all sat around watching television, he’d received a message on his phone. He’d suddenly announced he was going out and he left the house in a cloud of aftershave and a fresh T-shirt. Claire didn’t know who the girl was; she could only hope that she was nice and didn’t mess him around.

But when he came back less than an hour later, it was clear that the evening had gone wrong. When she’d gently asked him about it, he’d muttered something about not even messaging to let him know she was no longer coming and Claire knew he’d been stood up. Her heart broke for him. But she knew there was nothing she could do and as he’d stormed off to his bedroom, Claire had hoped it would all blow over. Instead, it seemed to get worse, judging by Joshua’s absolute refusal to speak some days. Chris had warned her not to pressurise him but after a couple of weeks of this, Claire had gone into his bedroom, sat on the edge of his bed and gently removed his phone from his hands. His closed laptop lay next to him on the bed.

‘You okay, love?’ she’d asked simply.

Joshua had nodded, looking out of the window, refusing to meet her eye.

‘Anything on your mind?’ she’d tried.

‘All good. Just homework.’ He’d continued to stare out of the window, his chin defiant.

‘You know, if there’s anything you want to talk about, I’m—’

‘I know, Mum, thanks.’

Claire had nodded. It was clear Joshua hadn’t been in the mood for sharing and she hadn’t wanted to push him.