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‘Barack Obama,’ her mother said without missing a beat.

‘Why would Barack Obama have come to the shop?’ Holly frowned.

‘I don’t know. But you said guess, and you sounded excited, so I thought someone exciting might have come in. And I think Barack Obama’s exciting.’

‘No, Mum. It wasn’t Barack Obama. It was Maud.’

‘Maud?’

‘Yes, do you know Maud? Maud as in Agnes and Maud.’

‘I know who you meant, I only thought that…’ Her sentence faded into the ether, before she looked directly at Holly. ‘Did you get to talk to her much?’

Holly shook her head. ‘Not really. Evan was still in the shop, but we’re going to meet up for dinner tonight. I’m going to take Hope to meet her too. Can you believe she hasn’t even met Hope yet?’

She expected her mother to add some comment about how Maud would love her, and how nice an evening they were likely to have, but instead her eyes had a faraway look in them.

‘Why don’t you leave Hope with me tonight,’ she said after a pause, glancing down at her granddaughter. ‘She’s perfectlysettled here, and that way you and Maud can have a proper conversation.’

It was Holly’s turn to frown. ‘I can’t leave Hope with you because you’re getting a train tonight, Mum. Remember? To Brussels?’

Her mother shook her head, and a broad, tight smile rose on her cheeks.

‘Of course I remember. Ignore me. A silly slip. Too much excitement going on. I’m all over the place. I’d lose my head if it wasn’t screwed on. Yes, of course, of course I’m going to Brussels.’

Holly pressed her lips together. Before yesterday, she had never been worried about her mother. Her father, yes. Her dad’s heart attack had made her constantly nervous that he was doing too much, or too little. A tangible reminder that they were getting older. But she’d seen none of these signs in her mum until yesterday, and yet now they were coming thick and fast. Had she just been oblivious to it before? Whatever was going on, if her mother was still behaving oddly when she got back from Belgium, Holly knew she’d need to mention it to her father. Not that she wanted to worry him, but it was important to keep on top of these things.

‘Do you have everything packed?’ Holly asked, moving the conversation back towards the holiday. ‘You’ve got your passport, your tickets?’

‘Everything packed, double checked, and I made a list and ticked it off, too.’

Holly didn’t doubt it for a second. That sounded much more like her mother.

‘And Arthur has picked out a couple of places he wants to visit. Did you know there is a miniature Europe just outside the town? Like our model village.’

‘I did not,’ Holly responded. ‘You’ll have to make sure you send me some pictures.’

‘Oh, we will. Well, we can video call you. I’ve checked with the phone company and I’ve got all the internet and telephone calls I need so we can keep in touch. I’ll ring you the moment I get to the hotel.’

‘Good,’ Holly said. She wanted to know that they’d arrived safely, although from the way her mother mentioned the unlimited internet, Holly had a feeling she might receive a voice call every time they saw something remotely interesting.

‘Well, now that you’ve reminded me, we’d better get a wriggle on. We need to get to the station.’

‘Are you sure you don’t want me to give you a lift?’

‘There’s no need, love. Lenny already offered.’

Her mother stood up, and Holly squeezed her tightly.

‘I should probably say goodbye to Dad, too. Where is he?’

‘Oh, he’s gone to get snacks for the train. Do you know he doesn’t want to get ripped off by their expensive prices?’

Holly smiled. They may be starting to travel the world, but they were still the parents she knew and loved.

Holly grabbed her bag, picked up her daughter and moved towards the door.

‘I hope everything goes okay with Maud tonight,’ her mother said, that same wistful look on her face.