with his dad but not commenting. He outlined Hannah’s offer.
To his surprise, Carina didn’t, as he’d expected, leap in with queries and questions. ‘Let me talk to your father,’ she said. The line became muffled for a while, then she returned. ‘Lars says you should take over his house. It makes perfect sense. Hannah can have a room and you can share with the girls. If you came to my house it would be more cramped.’
‘But Dad might come out of hospital while we’re there,’ Nico pointed out.
‘Wait a moment.’ Another muffled conversation. Then: ‘If that happens, he will come to my spare room for a few days because it’s tricky coming out of hospital when you live alone. Now he’s falling asleep so I’ll say goodnight. Lycklig resa.’ She added the wish for a fortuitous journey quickly, as if to forestall further questions.
Well, now. Nico had no idea how to take that little development. It gave him a warm feeling to picture his parents together on some basis but all he said to Hannah as he came off the phone was: ‘Looks like we’ve got ourselves somewhere to stay.’
Chapter Nineteen
As the aircraft circled Gothenburg airport, passengers craned to see the grey shapes of cleared runways and curving wheel tracks cut into dazzling white snow. A rank of snow blowers and ploughs stood in readiness for the next snowfall.
Josie was in the window seat and, tingling, Hannah gazed at the view over her shoulder. She hadn’t realised she’d missed Sweden until this moment.
Last night she’d phoned her parents to update them just as they’d been snuggling down in The Bus with their books and bedtime Bovril, prompting a perfect hail of anxious questions about whether she and Nan were doing the right thing. Hannah had been as soothing as she could without reversing her decision.
Next, Rob had rung, no doubt tipped off by Mo. Hannah had half-joked, ‘Mum clears off on the big adventure then wants a say in what happens at home! I suppose you don’t think I should go either?’
‘I think you should,’ Rob corrected her, comfortingly. ‘Leesa and I will call on Nan and Brett at the weekend and check all’s OK. You go drink snaps, eat that Christmas smörgåsbord thing – what is it? Julbord? And tell Pettersson he’s lucky to have help from my stupid sister.’
‘I will.’ Hannah, whose mind had whirled with a mix of excitement and doubts all day, had relaxed, though she wasn’t sure she’d follow the advice about snaps. The fiery Swedish liquor was meant to help you digest but she generally preferred a nice glass of wine.
Now her ears popped as the aircraft throttled back for its final descent. She glanced across the aisle to see Nico giving Maria a drink. He was a thoughtful dad. Probably because Sweden was a few hundred metres below her, Albin flashed into her mind. What kind of father would he have made? She could barely imagine. He’d had such a strangely distant relationship with his own parents he’d have no warm and loving example to follow. Would he have thought to give a toddler a drink so her swallowing would equalise the pressure in her ears?
She couldn’t imagine that either.
Turning back to the window to watch the airport rushing closer, snowy pine trees ranged behind its white-roofed buildings, she wondered again if she’d be able to grab time to whiz up to Stockholm and track Albin down. The funds he owed her still hadn’t arrived and now he wasn’t answering her phone calls except with brief texts like, Incredibly busy. It was as if he was enjoying playing telephone tag, awarding himself points for not responding adequately to messages or calls. The train took two and a half hours from Älgäng to Stockholm and she’d need another half hour to get from Stockholm Centralstation to Frihamnen where his office was. Building security was high but a hullaballoo in reception should force a reaction from him.
She’d probably avoid Gamla Stan. It would upset her to see her lovely shop in its new guise as a sleazy ‘private club’. She shuddered.
Then they were landing, bumping onto the runway, the engines roaring into reverse thrust. Josie turned and grinned, blue eyes dancing. ‘I feel as if Mr Invisible’s pulling me out of my seat.’ She called across the aisle. ‘Maria! Did that feel funny?’
Maria laughed and dropped her cup to clap her hands. ‘Yeah! Funny, Yozee. Funny, Mydad.’
Nico deftly caught the cup and grinned at Josie