James, Yuri and I went to the airport to pick them up. Sean rushed over to hug me and to see his nephew for the first time. He swung him round awkwardly, then sort of patted his back. Babs lagged behind, busy chatting up a good-looking guy carrying a guitar. When they had swapped numbers, she finally trundled over to say hi. ‘What do you think?’ she asked, nodding towards the aeroplane guy. ‘He plays in a band. Cute or what?’‘Hi. This is my son Yuri – the one I’ve adopted from Russia. Would you like to say hello or are we going to have to analyse some leper you just met on a plane for the next hour?’Babs rolled her eyes. ‘It’s good to see that motherhood has really chilled you out.’ Then, turning to Yuri, she took his hand. ‘Cute kid. Lucky for him he’s adopted or he could have been a redhead.’‘Thank you, Babs,’ said James, laughing, while I fumed. ‘That’s the nicest thing anyone has said. You really have a way with words.’Babs shrugged. ‘I’m just being honest.
