‘Let’s go get a full English and you’ll feel better. Dad and Indie are already down there.’

‘Sounds horrendous.’

‘Come on, Brennan, a nice greasy fried egg. Sausages dripping with fat…’ he ducked for cover as she hurled her pillow at him.

They showered, dressed and made their way downstairs for breakfast. Katie picked delicately at some dry toast while Freddy tucked into a mountain of hot food, occasionally waving some bacon under her nose, much to her disgust. When they had finished, they checked out and made their way back to the car park.

‘I’ll see you soon,’ Katie said, giving Freddy a kiss and waving at the other Taylors before getting into her parents’ car.

As they pulled away, Sophie turned round in her seat and smiled at her. ‘Have a good time, love?’

‘Really good,’ she said. ‘A proper send off. Sorry if I got a bit tipsy.’

‘Don’t be silly, you were fine.’

‘Sorry if I embarrassed you, Dad,’ Katie said, her face reddening.

‘You could never embarrass me, Kitty Kat. I’m very proud of you.’

It had been a pretty momentous thing for her dad to put himself through what he had yesterday, and Katie felt proud of him too.

‘Are you sure you won’t change your mind about this evening?’ she asked him.

‘No thanks, love, you go on ahead and have a good time.’

They dropped him off outside their house. Sophie jumped out of the car and climbed into the driver’s seat and Katie clambered from the back into the passenger seat next to her. Together they waved until he had let himself back into the empty house and closed the door. Then they turned to each other.

‘Can we grab a cheeky McDs on the way down, Mum? I’ve suddenly got my appetite back.’

‘Oh go on then, I could probably sink a quarter pounder with cheese.’

Katie turned up the radio as they pulled out of their road and made their way back out of Cambridge again. She and her mum both started singing along at the same time, dancing in their seats. She laughed with a satisfyingly carefree abandon, and all of a sudden it hit her and she realised what her mum had been banging on about. Oxford had only been one part of her journey. She had her whole future in front of her and she was going to grasp it with both hands.

They pulled into Pemberton Road. Sophie took her seat belt off and got out of the car without so much as a glance at the house next door. It was someone else’s house now, not hers. She had seen the people who lived there once, when she was visiting Angie. A young couple had come out. The woman was holding a baby while the man bumped the pram down the steps. Ahead of them a toddler had scooted off, nearly going straight into the road and the harassed looking man had abandoned the pram and ran after him, yelling at him to stop. Sophie had grabbed the runaway pram and held it until the woman could catch up and take it from her.