After the nurse had gone, Max leaned back in the chair, his arm covering his eyes.

Two nurses wheeled a bed-sized cot into the space nearest the door of the Children’s Ward. Max and Ali clutched each other’s hands, peering at Jamie tucked under the sheets, most of his head covered in a wide bandage. His sleepy eyes fluttered open then shut again. Max sat in a high-backed chair next to him, while Ali folded the small, bloodstained clothes into a neat pile. A nurse wearing transparent gloves pulled the curtains around the bed.

‘Is it mum staying tonight?’ she asked, pulling a camp bed alongside Jamie’s.

Max glanced at Ali and they both nodded. He leaned over the bed and kissed his son’s cheek. He lingered, wanting to inhale the sweet warmth of the boy’s skin, but all he could smell was iodine and bandages.

Max flicked his wrist. He stared at his watch. How could it be 9.40 p.m. already? He rubbed his stomach. The last thing he’d had was that cup of tea. It felt likes days ago. ‘Are you hungry?’

Ali shook her head. The lights dimmed and the ward fell quiet except for their hushed voices.

‘You try and get some sleep,’ he said and moved round the bed towards her. ‘I better be off.’ For a few moments their bodies relaxed into each other.

‘When will you be back?’

‘As soon as I can, I promise.’

Back in his van, Max dragged his hands down his face. It would be easy to fall asleep now, but he wanted to get away from the hospital. He flipped open the glove compartment and pulled out a packet of Rothmans. He knew he should chuck them out of the window; he’d promised Ali he’d kick the habit. He lit one anyway, inhaling long and hard, watching the end pulse and burn as if it was his last. He squashed the remains into the ashtray and lit another. He needed a drink.

The Dog and Duck nearby was packed. A girl elbowed him in the chest as he pushed towards the bar. He knocked back a whiskey and ordered a lager top before last orders. Gripping his glass, he pushed his way outside and sat on a bench, pressing the dull ache in his chest. The waning moon was a mere sliver in the sky. The vast incomprehensible space filled him with awe and reminded him he was an insignificant dot in the whole scheme of things. For a moment, calmness settled on him, but like a sprinkling of unforeseen snow, it soon melted.