How grateful I was for our blissful new life and our daughter. And how, knowing what some women had to put up with, I appreciated my wonderful husband and the fact that he had chosen me, with all my flaws and foibles, to share his life. I had managed to overcome my doubts and fears of losing him, accepting that his little fling was no more than that. He constantly reminded me how much he loved me and our life together, and I had finally allowed myself to believe him; to trust him once more. I felt better than I had done in months.

I watched as he stretched out his tanned legs, pushing back his hair as he reclined in his seat. He turned to me and smiled, his eyes shining. I wondered if he had any notion of how gorgeous he was, how my heart still leapt at the sight of him. I rarely instigated sex, probably through fear of rejection, but felt so much love and sheer lust for him for him at that moment the urge was irresistible. I pulled him to me and we made love there and then, without a thought for anyone or anything else. Inebriated and content, we fell asleep on the sofa, our limbs entwined.

*

Deep into the night, a heavy thump on the wall disrupted our slumber. I was on my feet almost instantly, my heart pounding. Another bang. I shook Jack hard.

‘Wake up! There’s a noise coming from Mrs Barley’s – something’s wrong.’

Blearily, Jack sat up, rubbing his eyes. He staggered to his feet. ‘Wait here. I’ll go and see what’s happened.’

Mercifully, the spare key that Mrs Barley kept under the potted geranium outside her back door was still there, so Jack was able to let himself in. After a few minutes, he was back, his face grave.

‘Mrs Barley’s had a stroke,’ he said. ‘I’ve called for an ambulance. They’ll get here as soon as they can. It’s not looking good, Stina. She’s in a bad way.’

I felt my insides drop. The thought of anything happening to her filled me with dread. She had come to mean so much to our little family.

Jack kept a vigil from our window for the ambulance, while I stayed with Mrs Barley, holding her hand until the paramedics arrived. One side of her face had dropped and she seemed very confused. She was struggling to speak. As they carried her into the ambulance, I fought back tears and offered up a silent prayer to anything that might be out there to bring her safely back to us. It was too awful to contemplate.

*