‘Sorry, Toby, but that doesn’t sound right to me. Why would you need to go all the way home at lunchtime to have a two-minute conversation that you already had with Nick?’

‘Oh, for goodness sake, Zo!’ My husband shakes his head. ‘I’m sorry but I can’t keep this up any more.’ My heart plummets as I wonder if this is the moment where he breaks up with me. But strangely, he gives me a sheepish grin. ‘You’re far too suspicious and you’re ruining the surprise.’

‘What? What surprise? What are you talking about?’

‘Well if I tell you that, it won’t be a surprise, will it?’

‘Toby!’

‘Please don’t spoil it. It’s our ten-year anniversary and I wanted to do something nice for us.’

‘You mean all this strangeness is because of an anniversary surprise?’ I’m finding it hard to switch from sick fear that my marriage might be over, to relief that my husband might have been planning something nice. ‘Is that why Madeline’s been avoiding me?’

‘Look, if I’d known that it would cause all this upset, I’d never have arranged any of it. I’m so sorry, Zoe. Madeline’s been helping me to plan an extra anniversary treat. If I’d realised you’d seen us on Friday, I would’ve come clean straight away. The last thing I meant to do was cause you any worry!’ He gives me a tentative smile. ‘I mean, me and Madeline, really?’

My heart is still racing with stress and I still can’t quite let my guard down. Not yet. ‘What about this weekend? Why didn’t she want me to have Freya and Beth?’

‘Because I asked her if she’d mind if they didn’t come over. I wanted you to have a break. You’ve been working so hard, and this party seems to have added a layer of worry to everything.’

‘It’s not the party, it’s the thought that you were lying to me and keeping secrets.’

‘But—’

I hold my hands up. ‘It’s okay, I can kind of understand why, now, but you can see why I was so distant this weekend.’

‘Yes, of course, it must have been— Oh, shit, the potatoes!’ He reaches over and turns off the hob, staring into the pan.

‘Don’t worry. We can mash them,’ I offer.

Suddenly we’re both laughing, and he takes me in his arms and gives me a hug which turns into a kiss, which quickly grows deeper. He takes my hand and leads me upstairs. I check on the children, who by some miracle are both asleep, and Toby and I fall into bed. We haven’t had sex this spontaneously for months.

Somehow, against all the odds, everything seems to have turned out right once again.