‘We’re trying to make sure that doesn’t happen.’ He paused to fiddle with some wires. ‘Not tonight, anyway.’

‘Come on, Sweet-Bea.’ Dad reached for my hand. I was still wearing Henry’s jacket over the stupid red dress, and he had to burrow up inside the sleeve to find it. ‘Nana knows we’re here. And how much we love her.’

‘Son, why don’t you see if you can find us a coffee somewhere?’ Dad said a short while later, placing one hand on Jed’s knee, which had been twitching up and down with increasing frenzy. ‘Come on, I’ll walk with you, find a quiet spot to call your mother.’

‘Where is Mum?’ I asked, once they’d left the waiting area.

Henry moved along the row to sit in the chair Dad had vacated, next to mine. ‘She stayed to see everyone safely out of the hall. There were a few kids whose parents never showed up and she was worried they might not have a lift home. Adam’s with her, helping clear up.’

‘Mia?’

‘At the Coach House with the children. Your mum will be here once she’s locked up.’

‘Thank you for driving Dad and Jed.’

Henry furrowed his brow. ‘Of course. The roads are icing up again. They shouldn’t be driving distracted.’

‘And thank you for… taking care of her, while she was on the floor.’ I started crying again. Henry put his arm around the back of my chair and pulled me up against him, letting the awful gulping, gasping sounds get buried in his shoulder.

‘I’ve still got your jacket,’ I said after a while, my face pressed into his now damp shirt.

‘That’s fine.’

‘You’ll be cold.’

‘I’m fine.’

I twisted my head to see Dad and Jed sitting further down the row of chairs, heads bent over disposable coffee cups. There were two more cups on the small table in front of them, and while I really didn’t want to move away from the solid reassurance of Henry’s chest, the least he deserved was a warm cup of coffee.

Straightening up, I gave my face a good rub, tucked my hair behind my ears, and took a couple of deep breaths. The panic had eased along with my tears, replaced with a sense of resolute calm.

‘I’ve made a mess of your shirt,’ I whispered.

‘No problem. I didn’t want you disturbing anyone. Or being disturbed.’ Henry gave an almost imperceptible nod towards the other row of chairs. At the far end were an elderly couple who were both snoring, heads lolling on their chests. Slightly nearer to us was a middle-aged man wearing enormous headphones pretending to be engrossed in his phone. I knew he was pretending because he angled his phone towards me in a move I’d seen far too many times over the past couple of years.