I can’t believe it’s actually happening, especially after putting up such a good fight to stop it. It’s not that I don’t want to help the young boy. I do, but from a distance like most do-gooders.

The court says he’s legally allowed to live on his own at age sixteen but Social Services say he’s not capable or responsible enough at the moment. So here we are. If he calls me Mammy, I’m getting the first flight out of here.

Amber arrives home just before the social worker’s car pulls up outside the house. I was hoping that wouldn’t happen. That Amber would be out of the house and would not have to welcome him into the fold. I don’t know why I feel this way but something is niggling at my mind telling me not to trust the boy. The way he contacted Amber unsettles me and no matter how anyone disguises it, I call it stalking.

Kenny walks up the pathway, head stooped, both arms dragging bags. He does not look happy to be doing this. Now I feel sorry for him. This is not what he planned either. Moving lock, stock and barrel into a small semi with three other kids, a dad he barely knows and a stepmother he doesn’t know at all must be frightening. Oh God, did I just say that. Am I a stepmother now? Yikes.

Tom has spent the last half hour looking patiently out the window and now he’s rushing to the door. Both of us stand inside waiting to greet him. What the hell will I say to him? Do I tell him he’s welcome in our home or is that a bit formal for a teenager? I’ll leave it to Tom.

‘Welcome to our home, Kenny,’ Tom says. I’m turning my eyes up to heaven before I realize and quickly put my smiley face back on to nod at him. The poor chap looks uncomfortable. He also looks very tall. I hadn’t noticed it in McDonald’s when he was sitting down in a big glass dome, but in the confines of this narrow hallway, the kid looks like a giant.

The social worker goes back out to the car with Tom to carry in the remainder of Kenny’s things and I’m left standing in the hallway with him. Pushing open the door of the playroom, I invite him in to see his room.

‘I know this must be putting you out something awful, Sally, but I’ll be as quiet as possible.’