‘Just for a few days. You think that’ll make a difference?’

‘I don’t know, but it would make me feel better.’

Susso had put the squirrel on her shoulder.

‘They’re not going to come here,’ she said and then she left.

*

She drove to the hospital and walked through the hallways with her sunglasses on. The doctor inspecting her nose had a Polish accent and she had never seen him before, and that was a blessing. He didn’t ask what had happened to her, so he had probably drawn his own conclusions. Like everyone who saw her sitting outside the treatment room with tampons shoved up her nose did. She rested the back of her head against the wall and closed her eyes. Her top lip went numb, then her bottom lip, and it felt good.

The doctor rolled across the floor on his chair and worked quickly with an air of unconcern. When he rammed his freezing instrument into her nose and set the bone, it crunched as though she’d taken a big bite of crispbread.

He inserted a temporary splint, to be removed after five days, and told her that if she was unhappy with the appearance of her nose, she would have to come back.

*

The first thing she did when she came home was to show Kiruna her taped nose. The little girl was sitting on the floor in her room, drawing with crayons. She gave her an indifferent look before resuming her drawing.

She heated up leftovers in the microwave and sat across from the little girl while she ate, cutting up an apple. Kiruna reached for a piece. She chewed, her little lips wet with fruit juice, and studied her mother’s face.

‘Does it hurt?’

‘Only if I touch it.’

‘Can I?’

‘Yes. Ow.’

‘Can we go look at the squirrel later?’

She shook her head.

‘Susso picked it up.’

‘I want a squirrel too.’

‘They’re not pets.’

‘Then why does she have a pet squirrel?’

Diana picked up a piece of apple and bit it in half.

‘That’s a good question.’

It frightened me half to death…

It frightened me half to death when someone yanked the front door handle. Soon after, the doorbell started ringing and I had no trouble guessing who it was.

‘I didn’t expect you so soon.’

‘What’s the point of lying about in the hospital,’ she said, ‘when I can just as well lie about here.’