We dozed in shifts. I took the chair after I arrived. Ava refused to go home. At some point around four Alfie woke confused and upset and we both leaned in at the same time, hands landing on him like some unspoken agreement.
Now, in the honest light of morning, we both look wrecked.
Ava’s glasses are slightly crooked like she fell asleep wearing them. Her neat bob is sticking out on one side where she must have rested against the chair. There’s a faint red mark across the bridge of her nose from the frames. She looks like someone who has had a rough day.
Yet she has never looked more beautiful to me.
Alfie, meanwhile, appears to have made a miraculous recovery powered entirely by attention and hospital biscuits.
“Dad!”
He sits up the second he sees me properly this time, as if I might disappear again.
“Careful,” Ava says automatically, already steadying him before he even wobbles.
“I’ve got a broken arm,” Alfie announces proudly, like he personally arranged it.
“So I see,” I say. “Very impressive work.”
“I get to tell everyone.”
“I imagine you will.”
A doctor comes in not long after and crouches slightly so he is at Alfie’s level.
“Jack, this is Alfie’s doctor. Dr Patel,” Ava introduces us.
He nods at me before turning his attention to Alfie.
“Morning. How are you feeling today?”
“Okay,” Alfie says. “My arm hurts a bit.”
“That makes sense. Can you tell me what happened yesterday?”
“I fell on the stairs.”
“And did you bump your head?”
Alfie nods carefully and points at the dressing. “Here.”
“Good remembering,” Dr Patel says. “Do you know where you are now?”
“Hospital.”
“And who brought you here?”
“The ambulance. And then Ava came.”
He says her name like she belongs in the story. Like of course she does.
Dr Patel smiles. “Very good.”
He checks Alfie’s pupils again, asks him to follow his finger, then stands.
“He’s doing well,” he tells us. “Concussion symptoms are mild. We kept him overnight just to be safe. Broken radius, which you already know. Just keep things calm for a few days. No running. No climbing. No rough play.”
Alfie considers this very seriously.
