None of our business colleagues seated at the conference dinner in Darlington had any idea of our secret: no longer divorced, TPR and I had remarried in secret. Instead all eyes were fixed on Tim Atkinson, showing off as usual at his end of the table. He became even more annoying when it was announced that he had won the top industry award of the night.

There was snow on the ground when we left the venue. Not paying due attention to the state of the ground, I slipped off the pavement into the path of a double decker bus. My secret husband, his mother, and three sisters jumped forward as the bus hurtled towards me. I was only saved by the combined super-human strength of my secret family members. They managed to stop the vehicle just in time by catching it in their outstretched arms.