‘All right?’ says the Uber driver as I climb in, having finally escaped the boat.

‘I’ve had better evenings,’ I say, sitting back against the seat and shaking my head in despair.

I get home forty-five minutes later, having messaged thanks in about fifteen different languages to Sophie, and rummage in my bag for the keys to the front door. I’m just about to put the key in the lock when the door opens and I stagger forward slightly, straight into Alex.

‘Whoops,’ says Alex.

‘Sorry,’ I say, steadying myself against the door.

He raises an eyebrow and gives that lopsided smile that makes my knees – bloody disobedient knees, which I wish would learn to behave themselves – go a bit weak. ‘Good night, was it?’

I splutter. ‘Hardly.’

‘You coming in, then?’

Chapter Sixteen: Alex

Chapter Sixteen

Alex

13th April

Normal people would probably take advantage of the first Saturday night off in what felt like forever to go out and get hammered. Normal people – I think, as I stretch luxuriously, revelling in the fact that I’ve got the entire sitting room to myself and the house is empty – don’t work the sort of week I’ve just worked. I put my feet up on the coffee table and sink into the battered pink sofa. This is exactly what I need.

‘There’s been an explosion in the Heart Surgery ward,’ says a voice, urgently. No, I have no idea why watching a hospital drama on a Saturday night is my idea of relaxation but it’s the kind of mindless thing I need right now. It bears precisely no relation to my experiences so far of hospital life, but I quite like it for that. For one thing, they’re always using their phones in the ward. Everyone knows there’s generally only one spot in the entire hospital where you can get 4G service, and it’s usually down a corridor near a supplies cupboard. You can always find them if you’re in a hospital – just look for the spot where a disparate collection of NHS Trust staff are hovering, fingers tapping furiously, catching up on group chats or making plans for the end of their shift. Take it from me. It’s the most useful information I’ve learned so far.