She could see her father checking out prams. He had the same expression of amazement he had when he looked at new cars.

‘Pappa, what are you doing?’

Petter beamed at her. ‘We want the type of pram that grows with the baby. So that you don’t have to buy a new one every time she hits a new milestone. Look how practical they are.’

Ninni looked at the pram he was pointing at. ‘Why do they all look like they are made for Formula One drivers? Do they expect the baby to drive on the motorway?’

Petter chuckled. ‘You should have seen the pram we had for you. It was chunky and smelled of mould. Your grandmother had it in the garage for twenty years. I want you to have a good pram, a nice one for when you take her outside. Like this one, I think.’ He pointed at a pink pram amongst the gleaming wonders.

Ninni checked the price tag. ‘Pappa, are you insane? For one thing it’s insanely expensive.’

He looked insulted. ‘But it’s my gift to you. My granddaughter will be safe and look stylish.’

‘Yeah, well, I’m not getting a pink pram. You can forget about that.’

Now he was disappointed. ‘But we’re having a girl!’

‘Still, no.’ Ninni shook her head.

Petter wasn’t ready to give up. ‘But it’s lovely. It will stand out amongst all the other boring prams.’

Ninni rolled her eyes at him. ‘We live in Bergen, not in Spain. And in case you haven’t noticed, we’re back to normal weather conditions. Summer is over. It’s September, Pappa.’ Ninni waved her arm towards the window. The rain was pouring down outside.

Petter looked disappointed. ‘Ah, well. A navy one will have to do then.’

They chose a more sensible one that, according to Petter, she would be able to take apart and turn it into a car seat. Or a backpack. Ninni wasn’t sure. But it would have to do.

‘Now, let’s get the rest of everything.’ Petter looked around with a greedy glint in his eyes. ‘Where do you want to start?’

A couple came in from the rain, laughing and shaking water off their raincoats. The woman smiled at Ninni, a shared feeling of anticipation, perhaps. She held hands with her partner, who fixed his eyes on the super prams. Obviously having a flashy pram was a man thing, Ninni thought.

The partner looked a bit like Jack and her heart jumped.

Petter seemed to sense her moment of sadness. ‘You okay, sweetie?’

Ninni turned away from the couple and smiled at him. ‘I’m tired. Can we do the rest another day?’

‘Not a chance. We’re here, let’s get it done. You’ve postponed it too many times already, my girl. It’s now or the baby will end up sleeping in a cardboard box.’ He pointed at a chair. ‘Sit down and relax. Hold onto the pram. Leave this to me. I have done this before, you know.’

Within a matter of minutes, he had placed two wire baskets filled with colourful toys, bedclothes, pacifiers and a lot of things she had no idea what they were next to the chair. She was exhausted just looking at him.