“Now, honey, maybe we should let Daddy clean the kitchen while we go take a bath?” Her daughter started wailing in response, her screams ricocheting between the smooth surfaces of the kitchen. Anette picked her up out of the high chair and tried to soothe her protests with calming words.

Svend stopped them.

“Actually I promised that I would give her her bath today.”

“Da!” Gudrun exclaimed, and lunged for her father, who accepted her with an apologetic smile. Gudrun immediately calmed down and laid her head on her father’s shoulder. He gave Anette a pleading look that still managed to be ever so slightly reproachful. As if it was somehow her own fault that their daughter preferred to be bathed by him.

“Shouldn’t I…?”

“You bathe her next time. Go take the dogs for a walk instead and get some fresh air!” He looked affectionately at Gudrun. “Kiss Mommy bye-bye, princess, and then let’s go find the tub toys.”

Anette was allowed to kiss her daughter on the hair before they disappeared off to the bathroom. Disappointment chafed at her, but she refused to let it take over, even though fatigue left her feeling raw. It was normal that her daughter currently preferred the parent who spent the most time at home. As long as Gudrun was safe and happy it didn’t mean anything. She fetched the leashes and called the three border collies. They ran straight to her, no doubt about who they preferred.

Out on the street the late-afternoon air was thick with pollen; she could practically smell bark and musk and spring seeds. The sky was high and bright, and spring so palpably around the corner that it was impossible not to feel giddy. The dogs jumped about, tugging impatiently on their leashes. When they reached the marsh, she let them loose so they could sniff around and run off their exuberance, while she relaxed on a bench. She felt a pack of cigarettes in the chest pocket of her fleece from back when she used to smoke and took it out, shook out a cigarette, and set it tentatively between her lips. It was like putting on her very best old jeans, and she felt both disappointed and thankful that she didn’t have anything to light it with.