staged was on the news; the weather forecast had become a national obsession, everyone praying for that perfect balance – not so warm it might thaw, not so cold it might snow.
Sam raised his hands in prayer towards the ceiling. ‘Please God! It is the event I’ve been waiting for my entire life.’
Jasper laughed excitedly at Sam’s grown-up excitement.
Lee watched him, seeing his passion too. It had been more than twenty years since the last Elfstedentocht. ‘Would you skate in it? Liam said you were the skating prodigy at uni.’
‘Well, I’ve made a point of keeping up my membership with the Frisian Eleven Cities Association and I’ve got my KNSB licence so I’m eligible to compete, but I doubt I’d do that well. The guys in the competitive race are elite athletes, training for hours every day. But just to be part of the pack, even if it was right at the back . . .’ He made the prayer sign again.
‘Can we come and watch you?’ Jasper asked, drumming his toes on the seat. ‘I’ll make a banner and I’ll shout so loudly I’ll lose my voice. I won’t mind.’
Sam chuckled, bringing the last pancakes off the heat. ‘You’re sure? What would mama say?’
Lee rolled her eyes. ‘Mama would be glad of some peace,’ she quipped.
He placed the last pancake in the pan. Lee heard it sizzle but the sound had become background, for staring out the window she saw a familiar figure walking down the street. She was silhouetted against the strong, low light, but the neat figure and drum-tum – like a snake who’d swallowed a football – told her it could only be one person.
‘I’ll just be a sec,’ Lee said, getting up and glancing over at the boys cooking. Sam was teaching Jasper how to shake the pancake free of the pan.
She was coming down the stairs as the letterbox was pushed open and a letter dropped through. Lee picked it up distractedly and opened the door, for once not having to deal with bolts and chains first; Sam’s unexpected arrival last night had put paid to that.
‘Gisele?’ she called, having to shield her eyes against the blinding glare of the vanilla winter sun. ‘Hi!’ Why hadn’t she knocked?
Gisele turned on the steps in surprise, looking less than happy to have been accosted. Over her shoulder, a few more people were coming out of their homes and standing by the canalside, looking down excitedly onto the ice. This was one of the smaller canals and she could only imagine how busy it would be soon on the big canals, Herengracht, Keizergracht and Prinsengracht. ‘Oh Lee, you’re up. I didn’t want to disturb you.’
‘We’re always up; no such thing as a lie-in in this house,’ Lee grinned. ‘What a morning!’
‘I know,’ Gisele smiled wistfully. ‘The entire city’s going to be on the ice today. Well, almost the entire city.’ She patted her belly gently.
‘Jasper’s beside himself with excitement, although God only knows where our skates are. I’m going to have to hunt high and low to find them.’ She stepped back a little. ‘Do you want to come in?’
‘Oh, no, thank you – I can’t stop.’
Lee’s eyes narrowed. Why not? Where else could she possibly have to be at 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning? ‘Are you sure? Is everything okay?’ Her eyes fell to the bump. ‘Are you all right?’
‘Yes, I’m fine, the baby’s fine.’
‘Cunningham?’
Gisele gave that little laugh she did whenever she heard her husband called by his surname. ‘Well, I haven’t heard anything, but he told me no news is good news out there, so . . .’ She shrugged.
‘Yes, right. Sure,’ Lee agreed, still sensing something was up. Gisele looked nervous, jumpy, and she seemed to be having difficulty holding Lee’s gaze.
‘I just wanted to drop that by to you.’ She indicated the letter, limp, in Lee’s hand and Lee almost started as she suddenly realized what it was she was holding. She had been distracted when it had fallen through the letterbox, more surprised by why Gisele hadn’t knocked . . . The letter was in a bright white utilitarian envelope, the sort used in offices across the world. No thick stationery cards, no fountain-pen ink. Just Cunningham’s biro scrawl spelling out her name on the front. ‘I . . . found it. Yesterday.’
Lee’s gaze flicked up to her, hearing the hesitation. Yesterday? Lee had been waiting for this for over a week. ‘Oh.’ She pressed her fingers against it. It