Fri, 31 July

Things swept clean by Friday afternoon: The counter where the contract was signed. The chalk from the gate where she waited. The hour between those two facts. The hour's weather. The specific colour of light at 3:15. The weight of the schoolbag set down. The animal patience of a child who knows you're coming. The animal patience of a parent who has been somewhere fluorescent all week. The floor beneath both of them, bare stone showing through.