NEW YORK surprise

Ellie just wanted them to be a proper family but what would it take?

- Sharon Griffiths

They looked like any normal tourist family, Ellie thought, going down the hotel steps into the biting cold New York street - Ellie, Josh, Jessica.

But they weren't, not really. Ellie and Josh had been together for two years, married for six months. Jessica, 13, was Josh's daughter with his first wife, who had died when Jessica was 10 years old. Josh and Jessica had been a tight unit-until Ellie came along.

'See you later, at the Rockefeller Center,' said Josh, kissing them both lightly as they got into a yellow cab. 'Have a good time, girls.'

The atmosphere in the cab was as chilly as the weather. Jessica sat quietly. She always sat quietly. Never quite rude, just utterly distant. Almost as if Ellie didn't exist.

For Josh's sake, Ellie had tried to love Jessica. But it was a constant strain. When Josh had said he had to go to New York for business and how about making a trip of it, Ellie's first hope was that Jessica would stay with her gran. But no.

So here they were. Now Josh had a meeting, and Ellie and Jessica were queueing in silence for the Empire State Building.