I was quite a dab hand already, but nowhere near as fast as Liam. He clearly had the knack and could already feed the trees through far faster than I ever would.

‘From now until Christmas it is,’ David puffed, as we slid a huge tree through the machine, then balanced it back in the sleigh that the couple buying it had called into action.

‘Thanks,’ grinned the man, while the woman next to him wrestled extremely excited toddler twins back into their buggy. ‘We can manage from here.’

The woman, his partner I guessed, didn’t look at all inclined to agree and I smiled.

‘Our grandchildren,’ she explained. ‘We look after them while my daughter works.’

The snowsuit-padded pair were clutching Wynter’s Trees stockings, so I knew they’d already paid a visit to Santa and were now in raptures over the tree, although, given their age, I wasn’t sure they appreciated its significance.

‘How lovely,’ I said, but I bet it wasn’t. Not all of the time anyway. ‘Merry Christmas,’ I added as they walked away. ‘It isn’t too early to say that, is it?’ I asked David.

‘It’s never too early here,’ he beamed. ‘Now here’s a couple who have come to collect their potted tree. Come on,’ he nudged, ‘put the barrier around the netting machine and I’ll show you how the system works. Cass! Tony!’ he called. ‘How wonderful to see you.’

As I watched him greet them, I realised that this was exactly what Wynter’s Trees was all about – the personal touch. Adult customers were remembered, their growing offspring admired and their beloved trees cosseted and kept safe.

It was all part of the special service Dad had strived to provide and I felt an unusual swell of pride in my chest as I realised that he might not have had the opportunity to enjoy it for long, but he had achieved exactly what he had set out to all those years ago. It turned out that following his heart had worked out pretty well, for him at least.

David and I were still in the office when Ned and Maya arrived back, tidying up after a brisk afternoon’s trading. Chelsea had kindly dropped off and driven back out to pick up Liam after his first ever after-school stint. He’d proved to be as indispensable as ever and had been brimming with more than his usual level of excitement because of some secret presents he’d come up with for everyone.

Ned and Maya were animatedly chatting when they walked in, but their voices quickly trailed off. I calculated they’d just about made it as far as the suspended ball of mistletoe before silence reigned; however, their goodbye must have been brief, because Ned appeared in the office doorway ruddy-cheeked and windswept almost before I had worked the equation out.