‘Of course, take your time.’

As she heard Sophie head back downstairs, instructing Alan to hold his horses, she grabbed her phone and typed out a quick message.

We’re leaving shortly. See you at the hotel? Xx

He replied immediately.

See you in a couple of hours xx

Checking her holdall to make sure she had everything she needed, Katie shrugged off her gown, folded it up and pushed it into the bag, resting her cap on top. It was time to go. She picked up her bag and made her way downstairs to where her dad was standing by the front door, patiently waiting to drive her to her destination, just as he had been ever since she was a little girl on her way to ballet class or a teenager begging a lift to a house party.

‘Where’s the get-up, Kitty Kat? I wanted to get a photo.’

‘I’ve packed it away, Dad, I’ll put it on when we get there.’

‘All right, love, let’s go, you don’t want to be late for your own graduation.’

How have I finished university already? she thought, as she climbed into her parents’ car. It felt like five minutes ago that she was moving into her dorm room, unpacking her bags and trying to get rid of her parents. Now here she was, living with them again, albeit temporarily, having left the city that had been her home, and her heart, for three years. Her dad had come to pick her up at the end of her last semester and she had stood outside her student house, which she had shared with three of her closest friends, and felt a sorrow in the very pit of her stomach. I’m not ready for it to be over yet, she had thought, looking through the windows at the now empty rooms inside. It had been the best three years of her life.

And now they were all returning to Oxford for one last time so that she could officially graduate. Sophie had booked rooms at a hotel and they were going out for dinner and drinks afterwards. Freddy was staying at the same hotel with his family – not all of them because Benji was in the middle of filming a new rom com and it was too far for Ellie to travel, but Indie had surprised everyone by saying that she was coming. And of course, his dad would be there. But Katie knew there would be an absence that he would feel acutely, and she yearned to be with him now, to hold his hand and tell him that she was there for him.

As they sped down the dual carriageway, Katie looked out of the window, feeling emotional. She was looking forward to the ceremony and the party afterwards but it also marked the end of an important chapter in her life. Her mum had tried to reassure her that she had nothing to worry about, that she was simply closing the door to one adventure and opening the door to the next. ‘You have the best years of your life still ahead of you,’ she had told Katie confidently.