Slowly and methodically she stacked the plates and saucers beside the sink, brushing off any stray crumbs. Before washing them, she decided to make sure the kettle was full and to set a big pan of water to boil – not that she thought it would be needed yet, but it would be easier to heat through if she put it on now. Humming to herself, she turned back to the sink and noticed that Danny was standing in the doorway.

‘Getting everything ready?’ he grinned.

‘Can’t be too prepared for something like this,’ she said, brushing back a wayward strand of her brown hair. ‘First babies usually take a long time, but then again we don’t know when Violet really started. Knowing her, she could have been hiding it so as not to interrupt Christmas dinner.’

Danny nodded. ‘You’ve got it all under control,’ he observed.

Sarah shrugged. ‘As much as that’s possible – you never know what will happen at a birth, especially a first one like this. But Rita’s the best. She’ll know exactly what to do, no matter how it goes.’

‘Well, you’re the best too,’ said Danny seriously.

‘Danny Callaghan, you’ve been at that rum,’ Sarah scolded him mockingly. ‘Will you listen to yourself. Aren’t you missing Maeve playing the piano in there?’

‘I’m not missing anything important.’ Danny leant against the doorpost. ‘I can say it, can’t I? No harm in a compliment where it’s due.’ He raised his eyebrows.

Sarah could see he had indeed had a tot or two of rum, and yet there was a look about him that told her he wasn’t entirely joking. There was something in his eyes that hadn’t been there before – or, if it had, she’d always glossed over it. She felt something shift inside her. She couldn’t quite believe it – after all that she’d been thinking about him, for all the long weeks of his absence. Could it be true that he’d felt the same? Dared she hope for it?

‘It’s been quiet round here without you, Danny,’ she began, and moved one step towards him just as he stepped closer to her.

Then there was the sound of someone running downstairs and Rita’s head appeared around the other side of the door. She all but pushed Danny aside.

‘Sarah,’ she gasped, ‘I think you’d better come up. Right now.’

The party began to break up, with Nancy saying she should take Georgie home, Dolly keen to get Ellen settled and Maeve needing to return to her digs, the other side of the hospital. Danny suggested that everyone else should come to the Callaghan house so that whatever was happening upstairs could carry on uninterrupted. ‘Good idea,’ said Kitty. ‘You and Tommy get everyone sorted out, and I’ll just make a start on clearing up here.’