Ninni looked at the time. Only ten hours until dinnertime.

I need a nap, she thought. She flopped down on the couch and fell asleep, and didn’t notice Frikk coming in from the kitchen and climbing onto the couch and settling in the crook of her knees.

***

Jack hummed. Bread, he thought. That would be easy, but perhaps also an ice cream? It was warm outside and ice cream would do nicely. She would like that, he was sure of it.

A quick rummage through Agnar’s kitchen cupboards and shelves revealed treasures he hadn’t discovered before, like a bottle of decent red wine and half a bottle of Amaretti liqueur.

He hurried off to the shop and bought everything he could possibly imagine he would need. Jens didn’t comment on anything, just sorted out which cream was the equivalent to double cream. It turned out there was only one option.

There was no ice cream machine in Agnar’s kitchen, so he had to go old school, whipping everything together, putting the ice cream in the freezer and then resigning himself to stirring through it every second hour. She liked chocolate, so he opted for a chocolate chip. With a twist, always a twist. He hummed again.

It paid off to be sneaky, he thought. Then he made the dough for the bread and left it to prove.

A shower, he thought. I need a shower and a nap. The vet’s office couch was not sleep-friendly at all.

His mobile buzzed when he came out of the shower. It had buzzed more than once, by the look of it. One text from Holly, one from his dad and three from Fedra. He texted the first two and said he would call them later. He ignored Fedra’s texts.

Six hours to go, he thought. Plenty of time to get the ice cream perfected and the bread ready.

Plenty of time.

He put the alarm on, closed his eyes and fell asleep in a second.

***

A few hours later Jack rang her doorbell. He heard Frikk barking a few times, then he stopped.

‘Come in,’ Ninni yelled.

It wasn’t that easy, Jack thought. His arms were full, but he managed to push the door open and step into the hallway.

Ninni came down the stairs as he stepped out of his shoes.

‘I asked you to bring bread and you’ve brought everything in your kitchen! Are you that scared of my cooking?’

She smiled while she talked and Jack handed her the bread. ‘I always try to be on the safe side.’

Ninni put the bread to her nose and sniffed. ‘Oh, that’s good.’

‘I made ice cream too.’

Ninnis eyes lit up when she took it from him. ‘Lovely. That will go perfectly with my dessert. Thank you. Are you hungry?’

‘Getting there,’ Jack said. ‘What are you serving?’

Ninni put the ice cream in the freezer. ‘It’s a surprise. Go into the lounge, please. I’ll be right with you.’