As far as Nora was concerned, this meant that she was more or less a sailing widow for the entire week of the Sandhamn regatta.
This evening was one of the last opportunities for the whole family to have dinner together before the competition got under way. Tomorrow they were expecting guests, and then it would be time for Henrik to join the crew.
She suppressed her frustration and forced herself to adopt a pleasant tone. “Wouldn’t it be nice to have dinner with the children this evening, just the family?”
“But I’ve promised the guys. And we need to talk tactics before the competition.”
He put down the rope and looked at her apologetically. “Come on, it’s not the end of the world. You know how things are.”
Nora decided to drop it. There was no point in starting an argument over a dinner. “It’s OK. I’ll sort something out for myself and the boys.” She turned to fetch a watering can. The sun had been shining on the plants all day, and the soil in the pots was bone dry.
“By the way,” Henrik called after her, “my mother called. They’d like to come over on Monday to watch the racing, if that’s OK. I said they were welcome, obviously.”
Nora’s heart sank. A visit from Henrik’s parents was a full-time job. They expected to be provided with a delicious home-cooked lunch and to be entertained all day. With Henrik racing, she would have to look after them and keep an eye on the boys at the same time. And she would have to give the house a thorough cleaning before they arrived.
She had once tried to explain to her mother-in-law that she just didn’t have time to keep everything in perfect order. She had been informed that if she just got herself a nice little Polish girl, everything would be fine.
“In my day, finding decent help was never a problem,” her mother-in-law had said, waving her well-manicured hands. “I just don’t understand mothers today who insist on doing everything themselves. Imagine how practical it would be if you had a nanny to take care of the children. You need to learn how to relax, my dear.”
Henrik’s parents had spent their entire working lives in the diplomatic corps, since Henrik’s father had worked for the foreign office until his retirement. They had lived in various embassies all over the world, where all the household chores were taken care of by others.
It had left its mark.
The first time Henrik’s father, Harald Linde, had met Thomas, he had looked him up and down. Then he had raised one eyebrow and said, in a supercilious tone, “Do I know your father?”
Even though Harald had come across as unbearably superior, Thomas had simply smiled at him and held out his hand. “I shouldn’t think so,” he had replied. “Unless of course you used to work at Vårby School; he taught math there.”
Nora had quickly explained that Thomas was one of her best friends from childhood, and then she had discreetly attempted to change the subject. She secretly thought that Henrik’s father was pompous, but she could hardly say that to Henrik.
However, her father-in-law was marginally better than his wife, who was a rail-thin woman in her seventies whose greatest pleasure was to be seen at social events.
Monica Linde was a pretentious snob who took every opportunity to prattle on about the latest exclusive dinner party she had attended or the prominent figure she had recently met. She dominated every conversation, never giving anyone else a chance to speak.
How Henrik’s father had put up with her all these years was a mystery to Nora. And to everyone else. Nora’s own mother simply smiled whenever Monica was mentioned; she would murmur something about how everyone was different and that it was important to look for the best in people.
Monica Linde also adored her only son and regularly reminded Nora of what a coup she had pulled off in capturing Henrik.
The fact that the reverse might be true had never occurred to Monica.
Nora had long since given up any attempt to get closer to her mother-in-law. These days, she maintained a polite but cool relationship, which worked perfectly well for all concerned. They ate Sunday lunch together at regular intervals or met up to celebrate holidays. The rest of the time Nora kept out of Monica’s way as much as she could.
Fortunately, Nora’s parents could almost always be relied on to pitch in with great enthusiasm when she needed some help with the boys. Without them, she and Henrik would never have managed. But every time the boys saw their paternal grandparents, they were chastised by Monica because they were not sufficiently polite or well brought up.
The idea of spending all of Monday tap-dancing for her in-laws made her groan.
“Wouldn’t it be better if they came over one day when you’re home?” she said. “Then they could spend some time with you, too.”
She looked hopefully at her husband.
“But they want to watch the sailing.”
Henrik just didn’t get it. He was blind and deaf to any hint that his mother might not be the best mother-in-law in the world.
Nora gave in.
THURSDAY, THE SECOND WEEK
CHAPTER 11
As was often the case, Kicki Berggren was sitting at the computer. She had bought it secondhand on an auction website, and although it was a few years old, it worked perfectly. Kicki enjoyed being online. She could spend hours on Facebook and Twitter at night; it helped her relax when she came home from the casino.
Even if she was sometimes so tired that she could hardly stand up, she rarely felt sleepy when she finally got home after a long shift at the blackjack table. Her brain, which had been on high alert in order to keep the cards running all evening, couldn’t be fooled into relaxing right away, so she would sit down at the computer to wind down. Sometimes she would check out celebrity websites, just so she could dream about a life full of possibilities.
She went to the website for Waxholmsbolaget, the ferry company. She clicked on the “Boat Schedule” link and selected Sandhamn as the destination, bringing up the timetable.
On Fridays there was a boat every two hours. You could catch a bus from Slussen out to Stavsnäs at ten after eleven; the next boat arrived in Sandhamn just after one. She could be there in a couple of hours.
She started thinking about the letter again. It had been on her mind all week. The knowledge that was the key to the future.
Would she really have the courage to make use of it?
With Krister gone, she was the only one left, and this was her only chance. And she was certain the law was on her side.
As she lit another cigarette, she made a decision. She would go to Sandhamn the following day. She didn’t have to go back to work until after the weekend, so if she went over there tomorrow, she could stay until Sunday if she liked. That should give her enough time.
FRIDAY, THE SECOND WEEK
CHAPTER 12