Jane Wilson puttered around her kitchen, putting the dishes on the draining board away, wiping the already clean counters and worrying. Her husband, Greg, coming in for a mid-morning cuppa, eyed her warily.

“You sure you want to do this, love?”

Jane nodded. “Even if it’s not her, there’s going to be a connection. Sofi’s the closest I’ve ever had to a daughter and while I adore the boys, she’s in my heart too.”

He nodded dubiously, rinsed his mug, and headed back out to the back shed they’d converted into his office.

The boys slouched through from whatever they’d been doing and announced they were heading into town. Jane eyed them suspiciously. “Where in town?”

Patrick shrugged. “Around. Yeah we might end up in your café, not gonna lie, but we won’t interfere. Whoever it is you’re meeting isn’t going to know us.”

She laughed and shook her head at them. They were good boys.

Half an hour before she was to leave. She wanted to go early but forced herself to stick to the schedule. Let the person claiming to be her little Sofi get there first, let Jane see whether she recognised her. It had been ten years, after all, and little girls grow up fast.

Finally, she parked the car in her usual spot in town and walked down the main street, smiling a greeting to a neighbour but avoiding the chat the woman was angling for.

She pushed open the café’s heavy glass door and looked around the room. Patrick and Daniel were there, eyeing a pretty girl at a table in the corner. A pretty girl her heart knew on sight. She turned in her seat, smiled and waved. The sun rose in Jane’s heart and she bit her lip against sentimental tears.

She hurried across the café, and pulled her girl into a warm hug. Heavens, Sofi was taller than her now. She moved back a little to look at her little girl. “Oh my little princess, look how you’ve grown.”

Ouf! What a silly thing to say, but Sofi smiled again, and her eyes looked a little teary. Before they could both turning into watering cans, she said. “Let me just pop and get a coffee. Then we can have a proper talk. Do you want anything?”