And of course all the children were present. Even Rigmor, who had such a bad cold her dried-up snot would fit in brilliantly as a prop in The Exorcist. They should have wiped it a long time ago. Or rather, someone should have wiped it, but that someone apparently felt she should be the one to do it.

As though she hadn’t already put on more than her fair share of the rain clothes, made a packed lunch for Asta whose parents had, as usual, chosen to forget, and made sure they packed the first-aid kit, which had already come in useful when Edvin tripped and caught himself with his hands. My God, he’d howled. No one could scream as much over as little as that helicoptered brat.

No, she was at the end of her tether. The pain in her knees rivalled her heel spur, and every part of her body was exhausted. Exhausted from taking care of everyone’s children but her own. Exhausted from all the screaming and from never having an uninterrupted adult conversation.

She couldn’t even think about tutelage. Sure, it was nice on paper, ever so fancy and sounded great in the sales pitch when parents came in for tours. In reality, it was often about sheer survival. Getting through the day without too many disasters.

It was easier said than done when the children refused to stay in one place for longer than two seconds. They dashed around like crazed squirrels, screaming, completely impossible to keep an eye on. Especially here at the Slottshagen playground, where they could easily wander off into the rest of the park.

At least the man with the backpack was leaving. One reason for cheer. He’d probably noticed she was watching him and felt innocently accused. But she couldn’t care less. Innocent or not, there was no reason for him to hang around the playground when the whole park was full of benches.

She turned to the sun, which had just found an opening between the clouds, and felt its warmth on her face. It might be a really nice day after all.

‘Angela! Siri needs to go to the bathroom.’

She turned around and saw Harald with Siri in his arms.

‘Do you want to take her or should I?’ he continued, pushing his fringe out of his eyes.

Harald, who she didn’t know what to make of, even though they’d worked together for almost a year and a half. He was unquestionably amazing in every way. Enthusiastic and so full of energy he had to round off every shift with a trip to the gym. The children adored him and even though he didn’t have any formal training, there was no denying he was an enormous asset. Even so, she felt unsure about him.

‘It’s all right,’ she said and started walking towards them. ‘I’ll do it.’