Soon, the paved footpath turned into a hiking trail through sun-dappled woods. Birds were singing all around them, and a woodpecker hammered away in a tree above them. Susanne admired the way the fresh air brought color to Anja’s cheeks. She breathed in deeply. God, how long had it been since she’d taken the time to go hiking or just enjoy a day outside?

For a while, only birdsong, low chatter from a group walking ahead of them, and the crunching of their shoes over the path interrupted the silence.

“How come your sister knows Freiburg so well and you don’t?” Anja finally asked.

Susanne took several more steps while she thought about how much she wanted to tell her. Usually, she would just claim that her career and her busy life had left her no time to visit relatives, but it seemed wrong to fob off Anja with that excuse. Because that was what it was, she realized now: not much more than a feeble excuse.

“I stopped coming here after…” She threw a glance back over her shoulder to make sure Franzi was still talking to Miriam. It wasn’t that she wanted to keep secrets from her twin; she just didn’t want to bring up painful memories for her. Or maybe she didn’t want to make herself even more vulnerable by having her and Miriam listen in.

“You don’t have to tell me.” Anja touched her hand. “I didn’t mean to be nosy.”

Susanne looked down at her hand. “It’s okay. It’s not like having your parents go through a divorce is such a unique experience.”

“Guess not. But it can still be painful.”

Something in Anja’s tone made Susanne look up to study her face. “Your parents divorced too?”

“No. But maybe they should have. They don’t have the best marriage. It’s not like they hate each other, but there’s not much love there either. Basically, they are just roommates who hardly talk.” She sighed. “Was it that way between your parents too?”

“Oh no. They talked plenty. Well, argued, really. My father was not fit to be a husband…or a father.” Susanne kicked a branch out of the way. “I mean, he was a fun playmate, and he always bought the latest gadgets, so we loved spending time with him as kids, but when it came to taking responsibility and setting rules to raise us right, he left it all to our mother. She always says it was like having a third kid. I guess he never really grew up.”

“Wow. I had no idea,” Anja said. “I met him once, when he visited Nobby. He seemed…nice.”