Lucy Greenwell

And in a way, Jess feels like she has three families.

There's her own family unit with Jamie and the kids.

There's Kim on her father's side.

And then there's her birth mother's family too.

It's a lot.

On her mother's side of the family, everyone tiptoes round the central issue that Jennifer and Jess don't have a relationship, have never met.

But for a while, they sort of make it work.

There's a fragile sense of family.

They muddle on, as families do.

But a couple of years after they all first meet, in early 2025, Jennifer's dad, Jess's grandad, falls ill and everything begins to change.

He and Jess had grown close.

The last time she saw him, they'd gone for a walk together.

He'd said lovely things to her about what she meant to him and it felt genuinely special.

But now, when he's really sick, there's a closing of the ranks.

Her grandad's immediate family tell her again and again, don't worry, there's really no point coming to visit at this stage.

She thinks about ignoring their messages, just jumping in her car, but she doesn't want to tread on toes, so she stays at home.

Jess only finds out that her new grandfather has died when one of her cousins posts about it on Facebook.

Jess hatches a plan to pay her respects at his funeral.

Her dad offers to drive her north and she decides she'll slip in at the back and disappear home before the wake.

But then she gets a message saying the funeral is for close family only.