There was a pause as she considered telling the group about her discovery, but the moment was lost when Justine said, ‘We take small steps every day, but grief isn’t a straight path. There will be times when we hit a bump in the road and it might seem like we’re right back where we started, but you will make up ground again.’

April could explain that rather than hitting a bump in the road, she had fallen into a sinkhole, but one look at Justine’s tote bag propped up next to her chair made her hold her tongue. She could do without Justine’s advice. ‘I’ll be fine,’ she said.

‘And how about you, Jodie?’ Justine continued. ‘Have you been on any more dates?’

Jodie pursed her lips. Her eyes glistened. ‘No.’

‘Could it be you weren’t ready?’ Justine probed. ‘Or is it that you haven’t found the right person?’

Jodie’s legs were crossed and her foot jiggled in mid-air as she attempted to form words. Nadiya moved up a few seats and took hold of her hand. ‘It’s the wrong time of year for her to be thinking of anyone else,’ she said on Jodie’s behalf. ‘It’s coming up to her wedding anniversary.’

‘Sorry, of course it is,’ Justine said, shaking her head and silently admonishing herself. She sounded less confident when she added, ‘You were married on Christmas Eve, weren’t you?’

‘Ryan said marrying me was like the excitement you get in the run-up to Christmas, all that anticipation of what was to come,’ Jodie managed. ‘Which wasn’t supposed to include a heart attack a year later at twenty-fucking-seven.’

‘Have you made any special plans for your anniversary?’ Justine asked.

‘Same as the last two. Sitting on his grave and slugging back a bottle of champagne. That is until Mum drags me home so everyone can tell me how much Ryan would want me to move on, be happy, fuck someone else, have someone else’s children,’ she said, her voice growing stronger. She swiped angrily at the tears trickling down her cheeks. ‘How the hell do they know what he’d want? I’m pretty sure it never crossed Ryan’s mind what I should do if he died. It was never supposed to happen, for God’s sake.’ Her eyes followed the circle of faces until her gaze settled on Steve. ‘Would it have made any difference? Did you have that conversation?’