Mum is now staring at me with something like panic. “Pat, you look dreadful. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Never mind that, it’s just nerves.” Mandy’s almost hopping with the drama of it. “The important thing is, what shall I say to Nicky?”
“Nothing,” I say, pulling my attention back to the present. Then, “Nothing,” I repeat, much more firmly. The churning in my gut is settling, and the panic subsiding. “Of course I’ll see him.”
They’re both behind me as I go downstairs. At first all I can see at the open front door is his shadow, standing just outside on the step. Didn’t anyone invite him in? My nephew Daniel darts out from the front room, around the back of Nicky, then back into the house and towards the kitchen, making a siren noise all the way. May’s voice yells for him to walk, not r
