‘The opposite,’ Leila grinned, ‘I’ve got great news: star-jump-worthy news!’

The bell chimed behind them and Bev pushed open the door to come in.

‘What the … ’ said Bev, the jowls on her neck wobbling in confusion.

‘Jump in Bev – join the jump,’ said Leila, clapping her hands in Bev’s direction and letting out a ‘whoop’. She was acting like some kind of deranged Jane Fonda.

‘No,’ said Bev, looking at them as though she’d discovered them dancing naked with a corpse dressed in a ra-ra skirt. ‘I … I’ll go and warm up the ovens.’

Bev sidestepped past without taking her eyes off them, as though if she turned her back, they might somehow involve her in their weird ritual. Leila and Minnie both giggled.

‘I’m not fit enough for this, you’d better get to it quick,’ said Minnie with a smile. That was the thing about Leila – even in the worst situations she could make Minnie smile.

‘We just had an order this morning,’ said Leila, stepping up the pace of the star jumps. ‘An enormous order, delivering pies to fifteen different offices this month.’

Minnie stopped dead in her tracks.

‘What?’

‘No, don’t stop, there’s more.’

The bell tinged again as Alan came through the door. He surveyed the scene for a minute, then without saying a word joined in and started jumping with them. It was a lopsided star jump on account of his bad leg, but he had a good pace.

‘And they paid up front in full. Can you believe it? It’s enough to keep us afloat and then some.’ Leila started punching the air. ‘A stay of execution – a death row pardon!’

Minnie burst into song, with the lyrics from Alanis Morissette’s ‘Ironic’. And then they were both laughing and jumping and singing the words at the top of their lungs. Well, Minnie and Leila were singing the words, Alan was humming a strange beat-box-style accompaniment, and it didn’t sound as if he knew the song they were singing at all. At this point Fleur arrived, gave them a withering look and informed them that their generation were all intensely weird.

When the dizzying excitement of the jump meeting had worn off, Minnie kissed the silver four-leaf clover necklace she wore around her neck. She couldn’t believe their luck getting an order like this, just when they needed it. Then she paused. The timing of an order like this couldn’t be luck.