I thought I saw her eyebrows rise, just a little bit, like she thought there was something surprising about only having one name. Then she came inside, picking her way past Noah’s bike and the various school bags and pairs of trainers that were scattered across the hall floor. My house was hardly a palace – a small mid-terrace with a kitchen, a lounge and a bathroom downstairs and two and half bedrooms upstairs, but I’d decorated in light, fresh colours to make it seem bigger, and it was kind of tidy. Well, as tidy as it could be bearing in mind the lack of space and the children. I was proud of it, though. It might not be much, but it was all mine, or so I thought back then, and I loved it.

Noah, always curious about anything new, appeared in the hallway and then stuck so closely to Clio’s side that he was making it difficult for her to walk. I told him gently to give her some space, but Clio just smiled at him and ruffled his mad curls. Poppy was now curled up in an armchair and I saw her eyeing this stranger suspiciously.

‘Poppy,’ I said, my tone containing a veiled warning. ‘This is Clio.’

Poppy nodded at her but didn’t smile. I wanted her to buck her ideas up but I was reluctant to tell her off in front of the visitor, so I let the rudeness pass and hoped that Clio hadn’t noticed.

‘Please, sit down,’ I said.

I gestured towards the sofa, swooping in to straighten the throw so that the patch where the upholstery had worn through was covered. ‘Can I get you a drink? Tea? Coffee? Wine?’ I nodded at my own glass. I hoped she didn’t say coffee or tea because then I’d have to switch and I’d been looking forward to my glass of wine all day.

‘Wine would be great,’ she said. ‘Thank you.’

That was all right then. I slipped into the kitchen to get a second glass and the bottle and I could hear Clio talking to Noah. Noah’s not like Poppy – he’ll talk to anyone who’ll listen, and when I got back to the lounge, he had sat himself so close to Clio that he was virtually on her lap and the pair of them were poring over the SpongeBob SquarePants annual that I’d bought him for Christmas. It looked like he was reading, but actually I knew he was just remembering all the words. I leaned over them both and passed the filled glass to Clio. She reached for it, gave me a grateful smile and then took a serious swallow. Well, I knew what that felt like.

I settled myself down on the arm of the sofa so I didn’t crowd Clio and Noah.

‘So, you’re still not any wiser about this holiday house thing?’ I asked her.