The weather in Freiburg had turned springlike, and the farmers market around the cathedral was bustling on Saturday morning. Susanne squeezed through the crowd, trying not to drop the cell phone pressed to her ear or her basket full of vegetables, cheeses, and fresh bread.

“Has Miriam made it to Berlin yet?” Susanne asked as she strolled through one of the narrow alleys back toward the streetcar stop. Most of the time when she headed to the city center, she took the streetcar now, like a true local, instead of taking the car.

“Would I be on the phone with you if she had?” Franzi shot back, and they both chuckled. “She’s still en route. But she took the first train this morning, so she should be here in about two hours and twenty-three minutes.”

“Not that you’re counting or anything.” It still amazed Susanne to see her sister like this. Franzi had been much more casual in her relationships so far, never this eager to see her previous lovers. But she could definitely understand. In a week or two, she would be the one to count the seconds until Anja’s train arrived.

“What about you?” Franzi asked. “Are you eager to get back to Berlin?”

Was she? Not really, she admitted to herself. “It’s going to be strange. I’ve gotten pretty involved with things at Paper Love.”

“Yeah, right. Paper Love. That’s what you got involved with.” Her sister snorted. “Speaking of work, any idea what you’ll do once you’re back? Knowing you, you probably have a bunch of job interviews lined up already, right?”

Susanne paused at the end of the alley, not yet ready to join the bustle of people on the main shopping street. “Actually, no. I haven’t even been looking.”

“What? That’s so not like you, Susi.”

Susanne gripped the handle of her basket more tightly. “I didn’t have the time, okay?”

“Hey, no need to get defensive. This is me—your womb mate. I’m not judging, just trying to understand what’s going on.”

Susanne still struggled to understand it too. She had always carefully planned out the next step in her career ahead of time. “Don’t tell Mama, okay? I don’t want her to think I’m like—”

“Oh Christ, Susi! Is that the only reason you’re coming back? Because you don’t want Mama to think you’re changing your mind and your career at the drop of a hat, like Papa did?”

“No! Of course not.” But her tone lacked conviction, and even Susanne could hear it.

Susanne pushed through the crowd of shoppers and crossed the street to head to the streetcar stop on the other side. Then she paused and turned back around.