She scrolled down the page and stopped at a picture of her neighbour, Ísafold. She was clearly not in England, as her husband had said, but in Italy. It was odd that she was sunning herself by the Mediterranean when he had told her Ísafold had gone to visit family in England. Maybe Ísafold had left Björn, and he didn’t actually know where she was. He could have said England to save himself awkward explanations. She could understand that. What Omar had said – that their relationship was doomed – was right. He had been triumphant when he had made that announcement, adding that an unblessed union would never last. She had argued with him, but he had been adamant that Ísafold would be better off finding a man to marry – someone other than Björn.

Ísafold smiled from the screen, looking happy with life. She looked paler than someone who had spent two or three weeks in the sun, but Olga was just relieved to see her. She recalled now just how uncomfortable she had felt when the girl’s sister had called to see her. It was always difficult when people disappeared without a word.

She glanced at the clock. It was time to be on her way. The puddings won’t wait, she told herself. This was the routine that went back years, always the same. She would put on a hair net, take her seat by the conveyor, tune the radio in her ear defenders to the morning chat show and listen to the debates about the events of the day while she weighed the pudding powder into bags and looked forward to the coffee break, when the four women still working at the factory would laugh and make fun of one another. That was the best way to cope with factory work – as it was to cope with life when things got tough. One hour at a time.

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Áróra had hoped that Daníel would share her delight that Ísafold had made an appearance, so his dry response left her with a stab of disappointment. Was he hurt that she had fended him off the other evening? She hadn’t seen him as the kind of guy who would take offence or make a big deal of it. He had come across as being so sincere and understanding when she told him that she wasn’t ready. Of course it had been awkward, and she wouldn’t have been here at his place now if she hadn’t needed his advice.