‘I did ask her if I could go, but her mum said that she was only allowed eight people because otherwise it would be too expensive. But I’m one of her best friends. And even Cassidy and Ella are going and I’m much better friends with Hope than they are!’

‘Tell you what,’ I say, getting to my feet, ‘why don’t I book us tickets to see Peter Pan? And then at least you’ll be able to talk to them about it afterwards.’

‘Can I come too?’ Jamie asks, his eyes wide.

‘Course you can!’ I bop him on the nose with my finger and he giggles.

Alice shakes her head. ‘Thanks, Mum, but it’ll look really lame if I go with you instead of them.’

I sigh, privately agreeing with her. I know this isn’t the end of the world – children can be cruel sometimes. But in this case, I really believe that this exclusion is coming from the mother rather than the daughter. I can’t even call Kim up to ask why, as that would make me look like an overprotective parent.

Kim and her husband Thomas have RSVPed to come to our anniversary party, so it’s a bit rich that they’ve chosen to exclude Alice from Hope’s birthday outing. That is, if they even still plan on coming to our party. The way Kim’s been acting lately, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they don’t show up.

There’s nothing I can do about it. I can’t exactly force Hope to invite Alice. I decide instead to try to distract my daughter from her disappointment.

‘Hey, you know the Christmas decorations at the salon?’ I walk over to the cupboard and pull out a few items, bringing them over to the kitchen table.

‘You mean the reindeer and the tree?!’ Jamie cries, his eyes suddenly alight with joy.

‘Yes, and the gingerbread decorations,’ I add. Alice isn’t being drawn in by our enthusiasm yet. ‘Well, how about we make some decorations of our own? We could surprise Daddy with some gingerbread stars and Christmas tree biscuits. Look, I got some cookie cutters so we can make different Christmas shapes. And we can ice them too!’

Jamie picks through the various metal cutters, choosing his favourites. Alice grudgingly selects an angel-shape cutter, and we all get busy, our minds temporarily taken away from our anxieties. And while Alice isn’t exactly bursting with festive spirit, at least she isn’t as sad as she was earlier.