‘I see,’ she beamed, the facts still sinking in, finally understanding the rush to organise a wedding and why she had felt left out, a little excluded from her son’s big day. It had not been his big day – that would be when he became a dad to this little boy who was still no more than a slightly smudged photograph in her hand. These two fine men were building a family, just as she and Mario had done all those years ago and just as they would continue to do in the future with this new generation.

‘This is the most amazing news. Do you want to help me in the kitchen, Dan?’ she asked. ‘I’m going to make a cuppa and we can get the plates out for tea. Mario’s getting the chips in.’

Her husband doffed an imaginary cap. ‘And everyone can go large if they want and get a pickled egg, no expense spared. I’m going to be a grandad!’ He wiped his eyes.

‘Hi!’ Natalie called from the hallway. Bess felt a sense of satisfaction – both her kids were home, just the way she liked it.

‘In here!’ Jake called.

Nat stood in the doorway and surveyed the scene in front of her. ‘I guess they’ve told you then?’

‘You knew?’ Bess asked, happy that her kids were so close they would share this precious journey together; she knew how important it was to have a sibling who had your back. It broke her heart to think of Philip placing his arm around her. ‘It’s only a storm, and I’m right here, Bessie. I’m right here.’ And this thought only settled her decision to make amends, to bring her brother back into the fold, to put things right.

‘Mum, it’s killed me not to tell you, but they made me promise!’ Natalie kissed her mum’s cheek.

‘We didn’t want to get everyone’s hopes up before everything was in place. We needed to get the legal paperwork drawn up and wanted to get the first scan out of the way, so we knew the baby was healthy and that Gigi was happy and that her kids and husband all knew and were on board,’ Daniel rambled, caught up in emotion.

‘We wanted everything to be as guaranteed as it can be before we broke the news, and that time is now!’ Jake took the scan picture and held it up to his face, as if seeing it for the first time. ‘I can’t believe it – we are so excited.’ He handed it back to Bess. ‘You can keep this.’

‘I can? I’m putting it on the fridge,’ she announced, and marched off with Daniel following to do just that. He took a seat at the kitchen table, watching as she fixed on the fridge the photograph of Mario Jack, a combination of the two grandfathers’ names.