‘It’s icy,’ Cris said at one point, and Karl supposed maybe that was why the road was shining. He wished the weather would turn already, with sleet and clouds and darkness. And then, suddenly, there they were, standing outside the FullLife birthing centre, people gathered over by the trees, the sun, the glass, and Cris was asking him what he wanted to do. Karl was reaching for Cris’s hand and clasping it tight and finding the car keys there, transferring them to his own hand and pulling away. Cris was saying his name, like he didn’t know what he was up to, and so Karl moved fast, darted back to the car, turned the ignition, blared the horn, and drove their family hatchback up onto the pavement, over the concourse with the little blue lights set into the concrete, between the neat flower beds, and straight into the pristine, shining, tall, splintering, shattering glass of the building that seemed to be reaching beyond the sky.

As the car came to a stop halfway inside the reception area, Karl came to his senses. He looked behind, anxious, and was relieved to see that no one was hurt. The damage was minimal. Shards from the front pane of glass twinkled on the floor like droplets. They weren’t sharp, he noticed, stepping out of the car. It was safety glass. As he turned, a young woman who’d been passing raised her phone and took a photo of the car, half lodged into the birthing centre, and the broken glass twinkling in the sun. Then she posted it online.

Karl, meanwhile, was gently ushered to the seats by the receptionist, a young man who assured him that he just needed to sit still for a second and help would be on its way. Cris joined them, and they sat in a row on the comfy chairs, watching as the lift doors slid open and a sympathetic-looking white woman walked towards them. Security had appeared by the front of the building.

‘Come in,’ she said, holding out an arm to invite them towards the lift. ‘Please, come upstairs, both of you.’ Her eyes seemed to glisten. ‘I want to explain.’

Karl stood up and took a few steps. He felt a hand pressed, gently but firmly, on the curve of his back, guiding him towards the lift and whatever was going to happen next.

Chapter 14