The irony was not difficult to find.
They worked caring for children.
To go to work and care for children, the main character needed somebody to help care for his.
That person could not help because she needed to care for hers.
Somewhere in the middle of all this sat a completed rota, looking very pleased with itself.
Care work depends on an enormous invisible care system that rarely appears in job descriptions.
Behind every member of staff arriving on time, there may be a partner leaving work early, a grandparent doing a school run, a neighbour listening for the front door, a childminder accepting one more awkward hour, or a colleague agreeing to start before their own shift properly begins.
The workplace sees one employee arrive.
It does not see the small emergency meeting that took place in a kitchen to make that arrival possible.
It does not see the messages.
It does not see the favours accumulating quietly between people who are also tired.
It certainly does not see the embarrassment.
That part follows the employee through the door.