From Detroit to Windsor

On the back of a cartoon coaster
In the blue TV screen light
I drew a map of Canada
Oh Canada
With your face sketched on it twice

We rise late. My phone is bathing me in bad news about obtaining a second mortgage - I speak to Claire, my mother, and the insurance broker. The monthly repayment, which had climbed alarmingly from £520 to £900 is reduced to £730 - which is still a shock.

We head into the heat, collecting Lily from her mothers and depositing her with Yasmin, Leila, and aunts Emma, to watch a stage production of Mamma Mia in Adrian.

Callum and I head for Detroit down uneven, sunbaked highways. We eat our wraps outside the derelict Michigan Central station. Leaving the comfort of the car, we are assaulted by heat and humidity. We stroll round the combing chain-link and razor wire exterior, noting a selection of decrepit and boarded up buildings.

It’s after 4:30, so we’ve missed the museums. Instead we head for the river walk, offering a view of Canada, south of us, on the other side of the river. We walk west, towards the Windsor bridge in the distance. The breeze blows like a stuttering hairdryer and children run screaming through the fountains of water that jump from the pavement.

Couples race up and down the river on rented jet-skis. We stroll past a cruise boat and a huge paddle boat. The heat is intense. We’re two pale males in a sea of predominantly black faces.

We sit at an outdoor bar and have gin punch and frozen margarita. An immense Canadian flag flaps in the distance, across the glistening river, and a sort of heat-infused calm spreads through me.

On the way to Ann Arbor, Callum visits his special dispensary for Coffee & Cream.

The garden centre isn’t as busy as yesterday. There’s a bewildering choice of draft beers. We choose local IPAs and sip them, sitting at long tables, misted by a cold spray of water, and enjoy another pause.

The supermarket is cool and well-supplied. Vegetables, cheeses, smoked salmon, and hummus. I supplement this with melatonin and toothpaste. It will make for an interesting evening of snacking ;)