One stripper was a well-developed milkmaid wrapped in pink. The other was dark-skinned, seasoned with saffron, dressed in yellow, but at least she had rhythm. They performed separately, a good distance apart, and when the penultimate item of clothing fell it was received with the same enthusiasm as when the last leaf flutters to the ground one gusty day in November. Except that here the last leaf never did. It wasn’t allowed to.

‘There was more life here on Ladies’ Night,’ Gro giggled. ‘You should’ve heard the catcalls then. It was sort of more … off-limits … with male strippers.’

‘I can imagine,’ Jakob said.

I looked at Kari. ‘Were you here as well, Kåre?’

She squirmed. ‘I was here with … Gro.’ She glanced at her friend, as if to emphasise that actually she wouldn’t have done anything without Gro.53

We left the strippers to their own devices and concentrated on one another. At first we played Twenty Questions.

‘Are you still married?’ Gro said, looking at Jakob.

He shook his head, but nodded at the same time. ‘Officially, yes. But she’s … left me.’ And he mounted a slightly awkward smile.

Her gaze moved politely to me, and I said: ‘No. I haven’t been for ten, eleven … twelve years.’

‘As though that were something to be proud of,’ she scoffed.

‘And you, Gro?’ Jakob asked, glancing down at her shiny ring.

She was sporting an elfin expression. ‘Yes, I’m still married. But…’ She didn’t complete the sentence.

‘Still to Captain Hook?’

She stared at him and nodded slowly.

‘And you?’ I asked Kari.

‘No. Not anymore.’

Gro sent her friend an earnest look and appeared to be about to say something.

However, at that moment the dark-skinned stripper dropped the penultimate item of clothing, threw out her arms, tensed the muscles she had and thrust out her crotch, which was covered with a small golden scallop shell held in place with a thread that could have been from the same gold leaf. Then she turned her back on us and waddled out of the spotlight with it hanging between her naked thighs like Ariadne’s thread. For a split second she had reached Bella Bruflåt’s knees. But no higher than that. And then she was gone.

‘Think I could do better than that,’ Gro said.

Jakob made a gesture of invitation. ‘Show us.’

‘Not here.’ She teasingly poked out the tip of her tongue. ‘And I’d have to have some wine first. Loads of it.’54

Jakob raised a hand. ‘Waiter. Some wine, please. Loads of it.’

And the wine came.

Loads of it.

We found our way onto the dance floor and surrendered ourselves to the sounds the disc jockey chose for us, saluting the past as he did so. Jakob and I more or less stood on the spot moving our legs to the beat in the good, old shake style, while our dance-happy partners were tripping the light fantastic across the parquet floor. Even Kari let herself go with moves that made her seem young and groovy and different.