There was a little shop at the end of the road. It sold the sorts of things that little shops at the ends of roads sell. Milk. Peanuts. Watermelon vapes. Tunnocks teacakes. Blue WKDs and Jacob’s Creek. Little bags of safety pins.

There was a little rusted metal ring outside, fixed to the wall, that, sometimes, people would tie their dogs to. The little shopkeeper didn’t mind if the dogs went in the shop. “I don’t mind,” he’d say, if someone asked, “can I bring in my dog?” But people tied up their dogs anyway.

On Sundays the shopkeeper would sit outside the shop while Jane worked the till and Abdul stocked the shelves. He could have done it himself but he liked a day off. To kick back, sip a blue WKD and hang out with some tied-up dogs.