Lubbi shook his head, let go of her hand, and leaned back in his chair. He looked horrified, and Nanna was next to him watching her with an inscrutable expression. Jeanette didn’t even have it in her to cry. She felt like everyone was staring at her, and all she wanted was to disappear from here.

“How exactly did you get inside?” she asked, trying to summon something else in those watchful eyes except pity.

“We broke in,” said Lubbi. “After some persuading, we got one of your neighbours to give us a crowbar, so we forced the door. We were almost done when the police showed up, so they actually let us finish the job. Can you picture that . . . the police standing there cheering me on as I break into a flat? Fuck me, there’s a first time for everything.”

Jeanette’s lips twitched into a smile. It seemed to infect her two observers, who both perked up a little. Lubbi bent over her and brushed his lips against her forehead before sitting back down on his chair.

“Come on, girl,” he said, gently punching her bicep. “Don’t do this to us again. You’re hurting us, don’t you understand that?”

No, perhaps she didn’t. As usual, she was mostly thinking about herself. She hadn’t realised that her actions affected others. Or that there were people to whom she actually meant something. Despite the fact that they didn’t really mean much to her. Other than providing her with daily distraction.

The people who were important to Jeanette were all gone.

44. Sandra

44

Sandra

WHEN THE MIDSUMMER weekend reached its end, Sandra picked up Erik from her parents’ place ahead of the last normal week before the summer holidays. Sandra wouldn’t have any holidays for a while, but Erik’s summer would initially be spent with his grandparents. They would be on holiday as of the next weekend, and when they went back to work four weeks later, it would be Sandra’s turn to take time off. There was a lot of piecing things together to make sure life worked for Sandra and her little boy, and even though she felt a little ashamed, she was grateful to her parents. Glad that their spending time with their grandchild was just as much for their own enjoyment as it was about making things easier for her by taking over some of her responsibilities.

Despite her current heavy commitments elsewhere, Sandra hadn’t taken any time off from Friends-on-call. Ellen was still calling almost every weekday, and she was the highlight now that Kerstin had pulled back. Otherwise it was just the usual calls about fears and loneliness, anxiety about the future and worries about the past. Rewarding and interesting for both parties, she hoped. For her own part, Sandra felt satisfied that she was able to offer some small assistance to people who needed someone to talk to.