For years I had quietly worried that the twins might someday calculate the price of their childhood and conclude I had spent too little.

They were telling me that love wasn’t a ledger after all.

‘You know,’ I said, trying to steady my voice, ‘when you were little, I thought the best possible gift I could give you was a life without worry.’

‘You couldn’t have done that,’ Lily answered.

‘Nobody can.’

‘But you taught us what to do when worry comes,’ June added.

The waiter arrived, saw my wet eyes, and asked whether everything was all right.