‘Anyone who gets you back in the sea gets my vote.’

They only stop at the house for coffee and then it’s time to walk to the pond. Emma always swims with a gang and her friends arrive and all six of them set off down the road.

‘We’ll talk later,’ Emma promises Dominica, squeezing her hand. ‘When we’ve done the swim. Oh, I can’t tell you how much I love having you here. Can’t I kidnap you? Can’t you stay over?’

Dominica laughs. ‘This is just a day trip, but now I know I can still drive, I’ll be back. I promise.’

She is so used to Helga leading the way in their group, it’s weird to see her at the back, looking her age.

‘We’ve been swimming all winter,’ Dominica tells them. ‘We even went in the snow.’ It’s strange having this conversation – like she’s a clanswoman from another tribe.

‘Yes, these guys are the professionals,’ Emma says, proudly.

Dominica smiles at Helga. ‘You hear that? We’re the professionals.’

Emma squeezes her arm. ‘It’s so good to hear you laugh.’

39

That Unmistakeable Profile

It’s certainly not the same as the sea, Helga thinks, as she lowers herself down the steps after Dominica and Emma, and into the bathing pond. It feels colder for a start, which she hadn’t been expecting, but there are other ways it’s different too. The texture of the water feels silky on her skin, not salty. She’s not as buoyant either, and she’s surprised that she has to kick harder to stay afloat.

She puts her mouth under the surface, feeling the coolness on her chin and seeing little flies jump on the surface. A skein of ducks fly low and land gracefully on the lake in the distance beyond the line of white markers in the water. There are lots of swimmers dotted around and she watches Emma and her friends in the water, like a little flock, as they swim out.

She’s glad she came for Dominica’s sake, but today has made her feel more self-conscious than she’s felt for a very long time. She’d never normally admit such weakness, but she’s been nervous all day. It started with the drive here, which freaked her out – all those suburbs, all those people. In the comfortable rut of her simple life, she’s forgotten about the wider world, about the sheer grubby scope of humanity. She guesses it’s why she’s always been drawn to the solitude of the sea.

She’s not used to strangers either, even friendly ones like Emma and her friends. They’re city people and, next to them, she feels old and shabby. She’s obviously frayed at the edges in a way she hadn’t realised that other people noticed. Why would Dominica have taken it upon herself to get her this lovely new swimming suit?

Once she’s moving in the water, though, she starts to feel calmer, as she taps into that delicious feeling of freedom that cold water inevitably brings. She sees a vapour trail across the blue. It’s been a while since she’s seen one of those. She rather liked it when the skies belonged only to the birds. God knows nature needed a rest from all the pollution, but she suspects mankind will be back to its vile old ways before too long.