I hadn’t intended to knock, but Lucy’s husband Eddie, wearing only a vest and boxer shorts, opened the front door as I was walking away. We’d never actually been introduced. He wasn’t particularly good-looking, but broad-shouldered and muscular, with numerous tasteless tattoos. He looked dishevelled and rather surly. I could hear Alfie wailing plaintively from upstairs, and wondered if I should have waited a while.

‘Sorry – I didn’t mean to disturb you. It’s just a card to say congratulations about the baby. How’s Lucy doing?’

‘She’s all right. Bit knackered as you’d expect – I am, too. I’ve been trying to get the littl’un to have a nap, but he ain’t having any of it. We were up all sodding night. Luce and the bab’ll be back home tomorrow.’ He looked me up and down. ‘You’ll be Stina, then? She’s mentioned you a couple of times.’ His blatant lack of enthusiasm made me wonder what she’d said.

‘Yes.’ There was an awkward pause. ‘Well, congratulations to you both, anyway. Tell Lucy I was asking after her and hopefully I’ll see her soon.’

He grunted and tilted his head back slightly, his stubbly chin jutting, then disappeared into the house. Feeling slightly annoyed, I made my way home.

I let Jobie out. Mrs Barley was pottering in the back garden, wielding secateurs in her fingerless gloves. I often wondered if she even slept in them. I groaned inwardly; I wasn’t in the mood to talk to her.

‘Well, it’s all done now, then. They’ve made a decent job of it, at any rate.’ She waved up towards the roof.

‘Yes. No more leaks, with a bit of luck.’ Even though I wasn’t keen to engage her in conversation, I thought I would tell her about Lucy. ‘I’ve just heard that my friend from up the road has had her baby; a few weeks early, too. I’m next in the queue.’

‘Oh yes, that girl with the little lad – Alfie, wasn’t it? I don’t know her name, but I’ve seen her walking past now and again – and when she came to see you, of course.’ She appeared to ponder for a moment, then enquired casually, ‘Is all well with the baby – quite healthy, is it?’

It wasn’t an unreasonable question, but there was something about the way she said it that set an alarm ringing somewhere within me. ‘Yes, as far as I know everything’s fine with both of them.’

She nodded. ‘Good, good.’ I couldn’t be sure, but thought I detected a hint of disappointment in her voice. She shuffled her feet. ‘Well, she’ll have her work cut out, with two of them.’

‘Still, lovely news though.’

‘Yes, I suppose it is.’ She gave a half-hearted smile. ‘What did she have?’