The next day, Dawn was peeling potatoes in her mother’s small kitchen. Rick and the children were in the garden playing catch.

“They all seem happy,” Jackie Dix said as she gazed out of the window at Rick and her grandchildren.

“They are. It’s good for them to have some time together.”

“Rick still working late?”

Dawn nodded. “He has a lot on, Mum.”

“I understand that, love.”

Her mother turned to her and Dawn met her green eyes, so much like her own and Camilla’s, yet they carried something within them that told of hard times and disappointment.

“He’s a good man, Mum.”

“I know. But even so, good men can change if their heads get turned.”

“Please don’t.”

Her mother shook her head. “I don’t mean to, Dawn. It’s just…”

“Not everyone is like Dad.”

“Nope. You’re right. I just get scared for you and Camilla… and for my grandchildren. I don’t want to see any of you hurt.”

Dawn bit her tongue. Her mother had a heart of gold but she’d never recovered after her husband’s betrayal. He left when Dawn was eight and Camilla was ten, and now ran a bar in Benidorm with his third wife. Jackie had struggled to bring up her girls, working as a cleaner at several locations and taking in ironing just to make ends meet. Dawn admired her mother for what she’d done but also worried about her, as she’d never got over losing her husband. Although sometimes, it was almost as if she couldn’t allow herself to move on.

“I won’t be. Rick won’t hurt me.”

“I thought the same about your father a long time ago but I was blinded by love and lust. Fool that I was back then. I suspected that he was having an affair but I tried to ignore it. I loved our family life so much and the idea that he would risk it all for a fling was more than I could bear to entertain.” She shook her head. “Then the worst happened. I sometimes think it would have been better if he’d just died. At least he wouldn’t have chosen to leave us all then.”

Dawn’s mouth fell open.

“Oh, love, don’t mind me. Forget I said that.” She rubbed Dawn’s arm. “Anyway, how’re you feeling?”

“Not too bad this morning.” Dawn was glad of the change of topic. “Allie gave me some ginger biscuits and some more of that peppermint cordial and the combination seems to be helping. Here,” she handed her mother the colander of potatoes, “all done.”

“Right, you go outside and play with your husband and children and I’ll finish up here.”

“Thanks, Mum.”

Dawn hugged Jackie then went out into the small back garden, her heart heavy with the knowledge of her mother’s pain.

“Another cracking roast, Jackie.” Rick rubbed his belly. “But I think I might have eaten too much.”

“Well that’s a shame as I’ve made Queen of Puddings for dessert.”

“Oh… well I suppose there’s a small space left.” Rick smiled. “What do you say kids?”

“Yessss!” they replied in unison.

Jackie’s desserts were legendary and when she had a chance, she took them to the café parties that Allie held. She wasn’t always able to attend them because of her work, but when she did, people complimented her on her culinary skills. Before her husband had left, Jackie had always seemed to be smiling and baking. She’d been there to greet her daughters when they got home from school, usually with yummy freshly baked treats for them to enjoy and a hot meal that they sat around and ate together. That all changed after her husband had gone and she’d become withdrawn, depressed and irritable – and that was when she was home – because with the hours she had to work, Dawn and Camilla became latch-key kids. It had been hard returning from school to a cold, empty house, with no delicious aromas of cakes, biscuits or cottage pie greeting them. So Dawn knew how awful life could be if a couple split up, for them and for their children. And she had carried the fear of being betrayed and divorced throughout her life. Her mother’s little reminders of how men could leave didn’t help at all, although she understood why Jackie worried. It was natural for a mother to worry, after all.

Jackie got up to take the plates out but Rick held up a hand. “I’ll do this. You and my gorgeous wife have done enough.”

He stacked the dinner plates then carried them from the dining room.

“Laura and James, if you look in the cupboard there, you’ll find the small bowls.” Jackie gestured at the Welsh dresser.

“I’ll go and help Rick. He probably can’t locate the spoons, knowing him.” Dawn got up and went through to the kitchen but Rick wasn’t there. She paused and listened. Perhaps he’d gone to the toilet.

Then she heard the low tones of his voice and looked through the window. He was out there, on his mobile phone, his cheeks flushed as he listened and nodded. She gripped the edge of the sink and watched him. Who was he talking to? He’d agreed not to take calls on a Sunday, as in the past, he’d been called into work on several occasions, and it always hurt Dawn to see him hurrying away when he should be spending time with his family.

He said something sharply, then ended the call and stuffed his mobile back into his pocket. A muscle in his jaw twitched as he stared blankly at the fence dividing Jackie’s garden from her neighbour’s. He looked so far away, so removed from the energetic, light-hearted man she’d met all those years ago at university. Back then, they’d had so much fun together. They’d both been young, hopeful, enthusiastic about life and what lay ahead of them, and had spent so many hours talking, planning, sharing their hopes and dreams, making love into the small hours of the morning and collapsing into bed as the dawn light flooded the sky. She’d been certain back then that this was the man for her, that he loved her as much as she loved him and that they’d always be together.

But that was then.

And this was now.

Rick was slipping through her fingers like sand in an egg timer, and she hadn’t the foggiest idea how to stop him.

As Jackie served the Queen of Puddings, Rick clapped his hands together.

“Laura and James, we have a very special announcement!”

The children dragged their eyes from the dessert to look at their parents. Dawn shifted on her chair. Rick took her hand and kissed it.

“You are going to have a little baby sister or brother.”

A tiny line appeared between Laura’s brows. “A baby?”

“Yes. In about five months, give or take a week or two.”

Dawn suppressed a nervous giggle. Rick was always so careful with numbers, even with this news. And perhaps he was right to be. After all, Laura had arrived a week later than her due date and James had arrived two weeks before his. So expected dates of delivery were not necessarily precise, and with the children, they needed to ensure that they weren’t expecting the baby to arrive right on time. Laura had a thing about times anyway, especially since Rick’s working hours had increased again, and she would no doubt mark the baby’s EDD on the rabbit calendar that hung on her bedroom wall and tick off the days as they passed.

“I want a brother.” James nodded as he accepted a bowl of dessert from his nanna.

“You can’t decide what you’re having, James.” Laura scowled at him. “It just happens.”

“But I don’t want a sister.” His bottom lip wobbled. “I have you.”

Laura patted her brother’s hand. “I will always be your sister but you might have another one. Isn’t that right, Daddy?”

“That’s right, sweetheart. So are we pleased?”

Laura nodded and James shrugged, so that would have to do for now. It was a lot for them to take in, but they’d have time now to get used to the idea. Dawn hadn’t wanted to tell them until the pregnancy was well established, because it would have been dreadful if they’d known, then she’d lost the baby. Of course, nothing was 100 per cent certain and things could still go wrong, but she was well past the three-month danger point, and had quite a bump already, so they had to tell them sooner or later. It was getting too hard to hide her belly all the time anyway.

“Here you are, Dawn.”

Her mother handed her a bowl and she took it then gazed at its contents. Growing up, Queen of Puddings had always been one of her favourites with its layers of light fluffy sponge, custard and jam, topped with soft, chewy meringue. But right now, she didn’t fancy it at all.

All she did fancy was cuddling up with her husband and having him stroke her hair as he told her how much he loved her and the children and how he’d never leave them. But he was currently tucking into his dessert, seemingly oblivious to her vulnerability, and blissfully unaware that she’d seen him on his phone outside, lost in conversation with someone who brought a colour to his cheeks that Dawn didn’t think she’d seen in quite some time.