She plucked at a button on his shirt. ‘Yes, I believe you.’ Her gaze found his properly at last, with some of the glints of love that he had been aching to see. ‘And you will make it all right, won’t you?’ She sounded like a forlorn little girl, a version of her he had never seen before.

‘Yes, darling, I will.’ He cupped her face in his palms and they rubbed noses. ‘You are my sweetheart and my life.’

‘Du für mich auch, Liebchen.’ Their lips brushed and they went their separate ways.

On the opposite side of the street, Dylan ducked into a card shop, so abruptly that his rucksack, stuffed to bursting, bashed into the shoulder of a man standing near the entrance checking his phone.

‘Easy, mate.’

‘Sorry, mate… sorry.’ Dylan hardly dared glance back. His father had said he had a meeting in college, a good mile away. There had been no mention of meeting Heidi. Not that there ever would have been. His father did what he wanted, while making up rules for everyone else. Dylan didn’t want to have to hear about his father’s personal life anyway. It grossed him out even to think of it. He wished it could just stay private, like stuff in his own life. The brunch for a big talk about the engagement had been cringey. Whatever Heidi and his dad were planning, he didn’t want to know and he didn’t care. His dad was a tool.

Dylan squinted through the window of the shop, struggling because of the dirty glass and the distance. It was them right enough though, going in opposite directions now, the creepy public snogging done with.

Dylan stayed by the carousels of cards for a bit longer, just to be safe. He checked his phone for his ticket, even though he knew it was there, and then live departures. It was dead on time, which meant he had to hurry. He was still careful as he left the shop, checking both ways for signs of either of them coming back. The man he had bumped into hadn’t moved from his stance by the window.

‘Keeping to my space this time,’ Dylan quipped, holding his arms up.

‘No worries, mate. Have a good day.’

‘You too.’ Dylan’s heart hopped. It was going to be a good day. How could freedom not be good? He merged with the flow of people heading in the direction of the station, hooking his thumbs under the rucksack’s straps to ease the pressure on his shoulders. It hadn’t seemed so bad when he set off. But everything got heavy if you carried it long enough.

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