‘You love them, they’re happy, they’re safe, don’t worry about it,’ she said.

‘Yes, but I’m like a mother hen, clucking around them all the time,’ Sophie persisted.

‘That’s because you care and that’s the most important thing. I’ve seen a lot of unhappy, unloved children in my career, Sophie, and I can tell you that you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Stop beating yourself up; you’re an excellent mother.’

And with that the conversation was over as far as Angie was concerned. Sophie sometimes wished she had her confidence, her certainty. Despite their growing friendship she was still a little intimidated by Angie and how she managed to juggle her life so effortlessly. It wasn’t just her career but her family life too. She sometimes stole glances at Angie and Jack, observing how Angie looked at him so adoringly, how tactile he was with her. They are so in love, she thought, even after all these years of marriage and four children. While she adored Alan with every bone in her body, it was a very different kind of relationship.

It wasn’t that they had lost the passion because they never really had it in the first place. And it had never bothered Sophie because they were happy and they loved each other. As her mother always said: ‘The most important four words for a successful marriage are “I’ll do the dishes”.’

But occasionally she would glance over at Angie and Jack, dancing to a song or feeding each other olives, and she would feel a short, sharp pang of envy. It was as if they were living in a movie.

Whereas her life, she thought as she finished off the packed lunches, was definitely not a Hollywood blockbuster.

‘We’re leaving in T-minus three minutes,’ she called out to the children who were slung across the sofa like sloths, watching cartoons. ‘Shoes and coats, now.’

She herded a reluctant Tom and Katie out of the house and spotted Jack locking up next door, with Freddy and Ellie in tow. She waved and waited for him to catch up.

‘I don’t normally see you at this time,’ she said. ‘Are the kids not at breakfast club today?’

‘No,’ Jack replied. ‘I’ve decided to reduce my hours for a couple of months. We thought it would be good for Indie to have someone at home more until she’s settled into secondary school. She’s been feeling very anxious. So I’m on school run duty.’

‘Poor Indie,’ Sophie said. ‘I remember my first few days of big school well and they were terrifying. Is today her first day?’

‘Yes. Of course she insisted on making her own way there and Benji had to stay at least six feet away from her at all times.’

‘Wow, she’s so grown up!’ The thought of her children walking to school on their own filled Sophie with terror. She was going to be a nervous wreck when they were older.

She got the distinct impression that Indie was pretty sassy, though. Of all Angie’s children, she was the one that Sophie knew the least. She seemed to spend most of her time at friends’ houses or glued to her phone. God help her parents when she was a proper teenager, Sophie thought, she was going to give them a hard time. In contrast, Ellie was the sweetest, most easy-going child that she had ever met. Even now, she gave Sophie a beaming smile and a quick cuddle before dashing off to catch up with the others, who had scooted ahead.