‘Theo and I have been preparing for these few weeks for months. We’ve put in endless hours to make sure we would have enough stock to make the most of the expected customer numbers and now, just as the absolute peak time for sales has hit, this has happened and we’re missing out.’

I didn’t know what to say.

‘That makes me sound awful, doesn’t it?’ she choked, turning red. ‘I don’t mean it too. And of course, I’d rather be here and healthy, than at the huts and not pregnant.’

‘Wren, stop,’ I softly said. ‘You don’t sound awful at all. I can completely understand why you’re so upset. This time, in the run up to Christmas, must provide a big boost to your annual income.’

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘It does. We make more now than at any other time of the year and without it…’ she shook her head. ‘Well, to be frank, I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep going full-time and with a baby on the way, I’d rather not have to look for something part-time to help make ends meet.’

‘I can see that wouldn’t be ideal,’ I said, chewing my lip.

‘And Theo is insisting he’s not going to leave me until I’m completely better, not that there really is anything physically wrong with me now, but it’s a blow, this loss of income at such a potentially lucrative time.’ She let out a shuddering breath. ‘He wouldn’t have gone to the studio this morning if you weren’t here, you know,’ she said sadly. ‘I really don’t know how we’re going to manage.’

All the time she’d been talking I’d been channelling Winnie the Pooh and trying to think, think, think. The last thing she needed was more stress. She was supposed to be relaxing, and certainly not worrying about the demands of her and Theo’s finances.

‘I do,’ I said, as a lightbulb moment landed. ‘I know how you can manage.’

‘You do?’

‘Yes,’ I triumphantly said, ‘I do. I’m going to open and run the hut for you.’

She looked at me and blinked. ‘But…’

‘It’s still got plenty of stock,’ I carried on, ‘and I’m sure Theo can leave you long enough to drop off more if he thinks I’ll need it, and then I can sell it for you. Abbie or Sue can run me through the payment system as I know you all use the same one, and you can tell me anything about the products I need to know. I’ll open first thing tomorrow and then you won’t have to miss out on a single sale.’

I felt well chuffed to have struck upon an idea that would really help.