We Met in December

18th January

I meet Jess after lunch. She’s still in work clothes – a pair of dark grey trousers, black boots and a soft red jumper, which is an improvement on my work uniform. I’ve been living in scrubs for the last week on a placement in the paeds ward, and it wasn’t until I got home last night that I realised I had a teddy bear sticker stuck to the side of my beard. I’d like to think nobody noticed, but knowing the staff of Paddington Ward, I suspect they thought it was amusing.

‘You okay?’

‘Yes,’ she says, but it’s in that sort of brittle, not very convincing kind of way.

‘What’s up?’

‘Just one of those days. Loads of work stuff.’

‘We don’t have to do this if you’d rather get on?’

She shakes her head. ‘No, I need the fresh air. Just that first week of work thing. I feel like I haven’t a clue what I’m doing.’

We start walking.

‘So how did you end up knowing your way round London so well?’ Jess asks as she pulls her hat down a bit further on her head. It’s weird that January’s often colder than December – even though December is the month most associated with winter and snow. It feels a bit like it might snow now – the sky’s a funny sort of yellow-grey colour.

‘My dad worked here for years. He used to get the train up, and when I was old enough I’d come up with him in the holidays and just sort of wander around.’

Jess looks at me sideways like I’m a weirdo. ‘On your own?’