‘Oh, for God’s sake,’ I muttered under my breath. I tried not to swear in front of Noah, knowing that anything I said in the sanctity of my own home would no doubt be repeated in the playground and then reported back to me via the officious school secretary, as evidence of my shoddy single parenting.

I assumed it was the postman whom I’d known since school and who wouldn’t even notice that I was screaming at the kids, but when I opened the door, mid-shout, it wasn’t him at all.

There was a woman standing on my doorstep. She looked about the same age as me, but was obviously far less frazzled. She was wearing a pale grey shirt that looked like it might be real silk, a baby-pink scarf twisted artfully around her neck and an expensive-looking pair of jeans. Classy. She had a large pair of sunglasses on, too, which held her highlighted hair away from her face. She didn’t come from round here, that much was obvious.

‘Oh!’ I said, totally thrown by the fact that she wasn’t the postman. ‘Sorry about the shouting. I was just . . . Can I help you?’

She just stood there staring at me for a moment, which was kind of disconcerting, but then she seemed to come back to herself.

‘I’m so sorry to disturb you,’ she began. Her voice was proper posh, like she ought to read the news or something. ‘This is all rather peculiar, I know, but I think I used to come here on family holidays when I was little. I was just passing and I wondered, well, I wondered if I might pop in for a moment. For old times’ sake?’

She gave a tremulous little smile but it faded from her lips as soon as she saw my expression. I so didn’t have time for this. We had to leave right now or Noah would miss his class all jumping into the pool together, which was his favourite part. Also, slinking in late would give the other mothers something else to bitch about behind my back, which I didn’t need. And anyway, she’d obviously got the wrong house.

‘Sorry,’ I said, my voice sounding snappier than I’d intended, ‘but I’m in a bit of a rush right now. And anyway, I think you’ve made a mistake. As far as I know, this house has never been a holiday home. Have you tried next door?’

The woman looked a little crestfallen and then slightly confused.