Of course he isn’t looking forward to doing anything of the sort, Laura thought. Because he’s only seven months old. But she smiled and said, ‘Yes, boys have to stick together.’ She didn’t bother getting the buggy out and instead ushered Nate towards the mat, where he put Bobby down and watched him sit unsteadily on his plump nappy before toppling onto his side.

‘Oh, bless him!’ Chrissie said. ‘He’s still not sitting yet? Little poppet.’

‘Not yet,’ Laura said through gritted teeth as she resisted the urge to reach out a hand and punch Chrissie in the face. Out of all them, she was the one Laura no longer liked. Chrissie managed to get a jab in at every opportunity, and it amazed Laura how the others put up with it.

Laura had passed a comment to Nancy once, asking if she’d noticed the way Chrissie was always so competitive, but even Nancy brushed it off and said Chrissie didn’t mean anything by it; it was just the way she was.

That was the trouble with this group. She didn’t know any of them well enough to be honest with them. Even Nancy. Laura didn’t feel like she could take her to one side and open up to her. And it was only going to get worse, now that she had returned to work. The others would continue to meet, their lives would go on without her. She could see that soon she and Nate would only be invited to these gatherings out of politeness.

Laura watched Nate wander over to the group of men and take a beer, laughing and slapping Dave on the back as if they were the oldest of mates. She turned back to the four women, who were discussing feeding and how the pouches of baby food were completely necessary for when you were on the go, though of course nothing could compare to making your own.

Laura didn’t agree with this one bit. Bobby had only been weaned a month earlier and he was a fussy eater, and if they could avoid having to fill multiple containers with mushed-up vegetables that invariably ended up in the food waste, then all the better. She knew Nancy didn’t agree, either, because on the few occasions Laura had been to her house when they had begun weaning, Nancy had been shoving Ella’s Kitchen pouches into baby Lily as quickly as she would take them.

But it seemed even Nancy had taken the side of the home-cooked brigade, as she reached into her cool bag and produced a pot of green slush, which she proceeded to reel off the ingredients for.