‘Oh, he’s three months old now. Sleeping through the night already like a little angel. I’m going to start weaning him soon.’ She fussily tucks the blanket tighter around the gurgling baby. Weaning at three months (and sleeping through the night) seems a little early to me, but that isn’t what is making me feel unsettled. Before I can think it through, before I can try and figure out what it is that has made an icy fist clench low in my stomach, the doors are thrown open and ‘Aunty Linda’, the preschool manager, is ushering us all inside.

Mina stands patiently, her rucksack on her back, until she sees me and starts waving and calling to me. I park the pram up and go to her, making sure she has all her things.

‘Mrs Harper?’ Aunty Linda stands behind me, a stern expression on her face. ‘I know you’ve only just had a baby, but if you’re going to send Mina in wellies, can I please ask that you pop some plimsolls in her bag? We can’t really have children running about in wellies, not on this slippery floor. It isn’t very comfortable for the child either.’

My cheeks flaming red, I apologize and grasp Mina by the hand, eager to get out onto the street and get home. What on earth was I thinking? She must have put them on while I was rushing to get out of the door on time. It’s May, for heaven’s sake. As I struggle to manoeuvre the pram over the step out into the car park, feeling sweat start to bead on the back of my neck, the weaning woman appears beside me, letting go of her own pushchair to help me get it over the step.

‘There,’ she says smiling, and I have no choice but to say thank you and smile back. ‘It’s always a nightmare trying to get over that awful step. I’m Tara, by the way.’

‘Allie.’

‘Listen, Allie, I don’t know if you would be interested but there’s a mother and baby group at the village church on a Thursday morning. I go most weeks and so does Karen.’ She gestures to another woman with shiny dark hair, a baby in a spotlessly clean Babygro on her hip. ‘We’d love it if you could join us.’

I can’t respond for a moment as I realize what it is that had me so unsettled outside the preschool.

‘Allie? It’s literally right next door to the preschool here, so you wouldn’t be far away if they needed you for any reason.’