But the woman tapped her ring across the side of the clipboard, calling attention for the meeting to start, dulling all chatter, so Peter sat forward watching the snow tumble across the tall window at the front of the hall and hoped a couple of figures would hurry past it on their way in.

He scanned the hall for a clock. Go on, he said. You can come out now. And it did. In this place, it didn’t really matter if you could see a clock in a room or not. It could be hiding underneath a table or round the back of a radiator for all he knew. But there always was one. It only took a moment for the chatter to die down and the ticking made its presence known at the back of the hall, its only purpose on this occasion to make one thing perfectly clear to him. That Cooper wasn’t coming.

The woman introduced herself as Terri, and it struck Peter as strange that this was the same person as had joined Tokala on the lake the night they’d responded to the flare. Barely a month had passed since then, yet that time felt like it belonged to another life now, or somebody else’s life, perhaps. He’d forgotten all about her. And her voice was muffled, in the background somehow, like the meeting was taking place in another room and Peter was left alone to consider what would even happen to them both, now Cooper had made it clear that he was never going to join him back in the real world.

A draught whipped the back of Peter’s chair and Terri’s voice came in louder again. However, she was no longer addressing the group, but rather someone who stood at the front door where snow was now hurrying in.

“S’OK, hot stuff,” said Terri, her eyes soft and warm. “Don’t worry. I haven’t even begun to bore these good people yet, so you haven’t missed a thing.”

Cooper stood at the door. Snow dusted his collar. He shook his head to see through the ribbons of his own hair a little better, then nodded in the direction of the group to make his apologies for being late. Peter sat forward in his seat, relief and anxiety swapping places without either emotion sticking around long enough for him to work out which one he felt more. But Cooper didn’t look his way, or even attempt to find him. Becky appeared over his shoulder, whispering, like the pair of them had shared a secret just seconds before.