She’d been so headstrong. So determined to be a solo sailor and to be recognised, but the sailing trophies that had seemed so important at the time wouldn’t even fetch anything at a car boot sale now. It’s far too late, but sometimes she can’t help wondering what would have happened if she hadn’t let him sail away without her?

‘Oh, for God’s sake,’ she says out loud. That is ancient history. She needs to get over herself.

She distracts herself by calling Mette. She left a message a few days ago, so Helga owes her niece a call. In her mind’s eye, Mette is still a young teenager with long colt-like legs and blonde plaits, licking the sugar from the top of the bakery pastries in the morning. It’s a surprise that it’s Mette’s secretary who answers her phone and Helga realises she’s already in work.

They haven’t been so affected by Covid where Mette is and she thinks of her in her glass office in Copenhagen, ordering around her staff. Mette has short hair these days and wears stylish well-cut clothes in muted tones of grey and black. Helga wonders where that fun-loving girl who used to make up silly dances has gone. She’s so serious these days. Too serious to date. Too serious to have children. Helga respects her for being an independent woman. Of course she does. She was proudly one herself, but she wishes she was brave enough to tell Mette that forging your own path can leave you way out in front all alone.

Still, it’s comforting to hear her mother tongue as Mette is given her phone and Helga listens to her giving orders to a minion. Mette’s the boss at an architectural practice and Helga’s always surprised by her capacity for logistics and planning. That’s probably why she’s got such a big job.

‘There you are,’ Mette says, with relief, turning her attention to Helga. ‘At last. I was beginning to get worried.’

She’s of that generation, Helga thinks, where everything has to be instantaneous.

‘I’m fine. I didn’t have my phone on.’

‘But what if something happens? What if you get ill?’

‘Why would I be ill?’

‘I worry about you.’

‘Don’t waste your energy worrying about me. There’s no need.’

When did their relationship shift, Helga wonders? When did she stop being the one caring for Mette, to the one being cared for? The power balance feels all wrong.

‘But I do worry. I wish you had a community around you. People looking out for you. It’s not healthy to be so alone. Especially in lockdown.’

‘I have a community. I have my swimmers,’ Helga says defensively. She used to have a wild independent lifestyle that people admired and it annoys her that Mette finds her set-up lacking.

‘Listen. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something. I’ve been doing some work on a new development. A retirement complex. I’m going to send you the brochure. I think you’d love it. It would be nearby. I could see you all the—’