‘Someone mention me?’ Lee pops his head round the kitchen door. I rarely see my brother-in-law’s full body as he’s always rushing somewhere to knock a nail in or saw something in two. He sees me and comes over to give me a hug. ‘Welcome home, darling.’

‘I’m just telling Lyssa the happy news that we’re ‘with child’ again.’

‘Yeah,’ Lee says. ‘Lucky old us.’

‘See?’ Edie says. ‘He’s delighted. The proud father.’

‘I’m moving into the shed,’ Lee says affably.

Even with him in the shed and Edie in the bedroom, they’d still manage to get her up the duff somehow.

‘Catch you later, sis.’ And he’s gone. That’s about the deepest discussion you’ll get with Lee on the pros and cons of multiple parenthood.

‘If there’s anything I can do to help…’ I offer.

‘Get back together with Jake,’ she whines, ‘then you can have this one.’

‘Gee, thanks.’

‘Really, I mean it. I’ll do all the huffing and puffing and I’ll just hand it over. I’ve no idea where we’re going to put it. You’ll get all the benefits and none of the stretch marks. It’ll be the answer to both of our prayers.’

I think my sister is only half-joking. ‘I’m not sure that it’s so important to me anymore,’ I admit.

‘My word!’ Edie says. ‘I never thought I’d hear that from your lips. Are you sure you’re all right? You haven’t left anything else other than your heart in Nepal?’

‘I don’t know,’ I say. But Edie’s right. Somewhere in the mountains I’ve lost my heart and my obsession. I’ve just let them both go, floating off into the clouds. And whilst I’m missing one, the other I can definitely live without. Then a horrible thought occurs to me. Edie notices the fear in my eyes.

‘I know what you’re going to say…’

‘Did you?’ I ask. ‘Did you tell Mum yet?’

‘What?’ Edie cries. ‘Do you think I’m mad?’

‘As it happens I do.’

‘I’m trying to avoid it,’ my sister admits. ‘But then it’s not been too difficult as our mother…our wanton mother…is rather preoccupied at the moment.’

‘Our wanton mother?’

Edie leans forward conspiratorially. ‘I saw her with a man,’ she whispers gleefully. ‘With a man in a blazer and slacks.’ Edie nods as if that is condemning evidence enough.

‘Mum? You must be hallucinating.’

‘No. Straight up. I saw them in the town centre. It was Mum with a dishy fella hanging on her arm. Dishy, if you’re of an age where you think Regis Philbin’s a looker.’

This can’t be right. My mother the man-hater? With a bloke? The only man my mother would possibly consider giving houseroom to is Regis Philbin. ‘Did she see you? What did she say?’