parent choose a class for his child then it would open the floodgates of other parents wanting the same privilege, perhaps several times in each school year. Josie will soon be caught up in the whirl of Christmas,’ she added bracingly.
He refused to be braced. ‘She’s unhappy as a result of your decisions. I’ll put my concerns in writing to the governors.’
‘Out buggy, Mydad!’ Maria shouted.
Mrs Watts looked pained but repeated that the decision had been made and Josie would soon settle down.
Frustrated, but inwardly conceding that Mrs Watts had a point about parents choosing classes, Nico tickled Maria and said, ‘OK, kid. We’ll soon be home,’ shook Mrs Watts’s hand and went back to make the beds. Maria industriously patted duvets and shook pillows alongside him.
Then he lounged on the floor and listened to music while helping make towers out of Jenga bricks. Even when Maria bellowed, ‘One, two!’ and kicked each tower down it was easy work compared to his usual Monday morning madness and his applause made Maria’s round face glow.
He didn’t check his inbox or his team WhatsApp.
Instead, he set himself to returning the child latches he used to have for Josie to the lower kitchen cupboards. Maria crouched to watch, trying to grab his screwdriver. He gave her a plastic spoon to pretend with.
When she napped after lunch he continued to ignore his inbox and took a nap as well. It felt amazing. Then he wrote the promised letter to the chair of the governors without much hope of a positive response. Mrs Watts had deflected him effortlessly. It was obviously not her first rodeo.
He checked Facebook and saw Hannah had replied to his comment about dinner. Then champagne at the wedding at least. And an emoji of clinking champagne flutes.
He replied: That’s a cheat because it’s a wedding. Champagne obligatory. It was ages since he’d had time to do something as normal as exchange such inconsequential banter.
Before he knew it Maria was awake again and coming backwards downstairs, calling, ‘Yozee? Mydad?’ and it was time to fetch Josie from school. He began to think this week off, enforced or not, was what he needed.
Chapter Six
It was the Thursday before the wedding. Hannah looked at Albin in his slim-fit black, citified overcoat. ‘So you haven’t had a last-minute change of heart and decided to come to the wedding?’ she joked. Half-joked.
Albin’s eyes flickered. ‘I’m going to work, stumpan. You take this trip to your lovely family alone.’ Hannah found the Swedish term of endearment he used, ‘little one’, to be more condescending than endearing.
She got out her phone to summon an Uber to take her to catch the Arlanda Express to the airport, saddened by the smooth exterior she felt was contrived to keep her out. ‘When I come back, we need to talk … even if work’s still crazy.’
Albin laughed. Then stopped. ‘Yes, let’s do that,’ he said softly before he left the apartment, leaving Hannah wondering at his odd manner.
Then she went outside to wait for the Uber. Julia was covering Hannah’s five-day absence from the shop and she was determined to enjoy her trip home, whatever Albin’s mood.
Coffee at the airport, a sandwich as she read on the plane, and a few hours later she was landing at Heathrow to a bright winter’s day, clearing passport control then wheeling her bag down into the London Underground system to rattle along the Piccadilly line to King’s Cross St Pancras and then take the mainline train to Peterborough. It was so relaxing that she read almost a complete book. Maybe Albin was right. It was better for her to make this trip alone.
Rob was waiting for her, lounging against a post on the station platform as the light began to fade. She stepped off the train, turning up her collar although England wasn’t as cold as the Sweden she’d left behind this morning.
She gave her brother a big hug, examining his familiar grin and smart haircut. ‘I thought Dad would fetch me. Aren’t you busy being a bridegroom?’
He tugged her ponytail. ‘Meeting you was an excuse to get away from the mayhem for an hour but don’t tell Leesa I said so. The rehearsal’s at six so I’m whisking you straight to the hotel.’ His casual delivery belied the happiness and excitement in his eyes as they hurried to the car park. He stuck her bag in the back of his dark blue car and they battled the traffic up Bourges Boulevard onto Soke