“Would you look at us, all grown up, winter bathers in the sauna,” Johannes said with a chuckle. “We’re just a pastrami sandwich and a senior pass to the Louisiana Museum away from turning into our parents.”

“What’s wrong with pastrami?” Jeppe asked, squeezing the salt water out of his short hair with his hands to stop the chilly trickle down his back. “I’m afraid we turned into our parents a long time ago. You just haven’t noticed yet, because the guys you pick up are half your age.”

“Oh, would you stop?” Johannes snapped a rolled-up towel at Jeppe’s arm, and Jeppe responded by punching him on the shoulder. They rubbed their bruises, laughing.

“Besides, my young boyfriends keep me fit. Look, I’ve never been hotter than now!” Johannes smiled enigmatically. “Youthful, and only ever lonely on Sundays. How about you? You practically have a wife and kids now. How’s that going?”

Jeppe looked down at his feet, which pearled with beads of seawater and sweat. Indeed, he had got in Sara what he might call a package deal, one that he had never pictured himself signing up for, and he often found himself walking the very fine line between love and irritation.

“We haven’t moved in together yet,” Jeppe said. “It’s not so easy when there are kids involved.”

“On the other hand, it’s a way to have kids.” Johannes tipped his head to the side and dried his ears on the towel. “That is something you’ve always wanted, after all.”

Jeppe shrugged. He had lived through three failed rounds of fertility treatments with his ex-wife before they decided to split and she had a baby with someone else. Since then he had pretty much given up on the idea of becoming a parent.

“When you don’t have kids yourself, the whole thing can be a little overwhelming,” Jeppe admitted.

“Honestly,” Johannes said, eyeing him skeptically. “Can you ever really learn to love someone else’s children?”

Jeppe pictured eleven-year-old Amina, who had awakened the household that morning—along with most of the neighbors—by playing K-pop at concert volume and throwing a temper tantrum when Sara turned the music down.

“They’re both great girls.”

“I’ll take that as a no.” Johannes laughed. “I figured as much, but I get it. Most kids are just as unbearable as their parents.”

“Wait,” Jeppe protested. “That’s not what I mean. I’m very fond of Sara’s kids, we just need to get used to one another. They need ample time to adjust to Mom having a boyfriend, who is not their father…” He felt a wave of heat rise up his spine and hit his cheeks, turning them a glossy red. “Say, shouldn’t we be talking about your divorce instead? How’s it going with divvying up the assets? Are your lawyers on speaking terms?”