the hayloft at Grandma’s on summer evenings, down in Vingåker, and Roland would spend hours talking about you. He had an old photograph he’d cut out of the paper, of you and a few other people, but he’d folded it so only you showed. He kept it in his wallet.’
The waiter came over with their starters and poured their wine. They ate, silent.
Annika pushed her empty plate away and studied the man opposite her. ‘How old are you really?’ she asked.
‘Two years older than Roland,’ he said.
‘Who was one year older than me, because he had to repeat a year.’
‘Education wasn’t exactly a priority in the Halenius family. I was the first to make it to university.’
‘Are you from Södermanland as well?’
He took a sip of wine and shook his head. ‘Östergötland, Norrköping. I grew up on the third floor of a block of flats on Himmelstalundsvägen.’
‘So are you Social Democrat royalty, then? You know, Mum a local councillor, Dad a union boss?’
‘God, no,’ he said. ‘Dad was a Communist. I was in the Red Youth to start with, but the Social Democrat youth movement had better parties. And much prettier girls. I got Roland to join as well. He’s still on the town council for the Social Democrats down in Flen.’
She visualized Roland Larsson, his rather squat frame and long arms. He and Jimmy Halenius were actuallyfairly similar. She didn’t know he had gone into local politics. ‘What else is Roland up to, these days?’
‘He usually works in the ice-cream factory each summer, but he’s signing on at the moment.’
‘Does he still live in Hälleforsnäs?’
‘Last autumn he took the leap and went all the way to Mellösa. He moved in with a divorcee with three kids who has a place just behind the local shop, the one on the road out to Harpsund.’
‘Not Sylvia Hagtorn?’
‘Yes, that’s her name! Do you know her?’
‘She was in the class above us. Three kids? I wonder who with.’
The waiter removed their plates and brought the main course. He refilled Jimmy Halenius’s glass.
‘Are you married?’ Annika asked, glancing at the ring finger of his left hand.
‘Divorced,’ he said, as he attacked his steak.
‘Children?’ she asked, picking at the reindeer stew.
‘Two,’ he said. ‘Twins. One of each. They’re six now.’
‘And you have them every other week?’
‘Since they were eighteen months.’
‘How do you think it works?’
He drank some wine. ‘Oh, you know,’ he said. ‘How do you think it works?’
She swirled her wine in the glass. She didn’t usually like red wine and this was particularly heavy. ‘I hate being divorced,’ she said, meeting his gaze. ‘I miss my children so much I feel like dying when they’re not with me. And I … Well, I have a few problems with Thomas’s new … partner.’ She had almost said, ‘I hate Thomas’s new fuck.’
‘Really, why?’ He sounded almost amused.
‘She’s a walking cliché. I don’t understand what Thomas sees in her.’
‘So you don’t think she tore your family apart?’
Annika gripped her cutlery tightly. ‘Well, of course she did. If it hadn’t been for her, I’d have my children with me all the time.’
Jimmy Halenius scooped some potato on to his fork. ‘Do you really believe that?’ he said. ‘Didn’t you and Thomas do a pretty good job of tearing your family apart without anyone else’s help?’
She was so taken aback that she dropped her knife. ‘What the hell would you know about that?’ she said.
He gave a short laugh. ‘Oh,’ he said, ‘I don’t know anything about the two of you. I just know what mistakes I made. I was awful to live with. I didn’t communicate. I could start a world war about the tiniest things, but when it came to the really big issues I just expected her to know what I wanted. And now I’ve started four sentences with “I”. I’m fairly self-absorbed as well. Did I mention that?’
She burst out laughing. ‘That could have been
The waiter came over with their starters and poured their wine. They ate, silent.
Annika pushed her empty plate away and studied the man opposite her. ‘How old are you really?’ she asked.
‘Two years older than Roland,’ he said.
‘Who was one year older than me, because he had to repeat a year.’
‘Education wasn’t exactly a priority in the Halenius family. I was the first to make it to university.’
‘Are you from Södermanland as well?’
He took a sip of wine and shook his head. ‘Östergötland, Norrköping. I grew up on the third floor of a block of flats on Himmelstalundsvägen.’
‘So are you Social Democrat royalty, then? You know, Mum a local councillor, Dad a union boss?’
‘God, no,’ he said. ‘Dad was a Communist. I was in the Red Youth to start with, but the Social Democrat youth movement had better parties. And much prettier girls. I got Roland to join as well. He’s still on the town council for the Social Democrats down in Flen.’
She visualized Roland Larsson, his rather squat frame and long arms. He and Jimmy Halenius were actuallyfairly similar. She didn’t know he had gone into local politics. ‘What else is Roland up to, these days?’
‘He usually works in the ice-cream factory each summer, but he’s signing on at the moment.’
‘Does he still live in Hälleforsnäs?’
‘Last autumn he took the leap and went all the way to Mellösa. He moved in with a divorcee with three kids who has a place just behind the local shop, the one on the road out to Harpsund.’
‘Not Sylvia Hagtorn?’
‘Yes, that’s her name! Do you know her?’
‘She was in the class above us. Three kids? I wonder who with.’
The waiter removed their plates and brought the main course. He refilled Jimmy Halenius’s glass.
‘Are you married?’ Annika asked, glancing at the ring finger of his left hand.
‘Divorced,’ he said, as he attacked his steak.
‘Children?’ she asked, picking at the reindeer stew.
‘Two,’ he said. ‘Twins. One of each. They’re six now.’
‘And you have them every other week?’
‘Since they were eighteen months.’
‘How do you think it works?’
He drank some wine. ‘Oh, you know,’ he said. ‘How do you think it works?’
She swirled her wine in the glass. She didn’t usually like red wine and this was particularly heavy. ‘I hate being divorced,’ she said, meeting his gaze. ‘I miss my children so much I feel like dying when they’re not with me. And I … Well, I have a few problems with Thomas’s new … partner.’ She had almost said, ‘I hate Thomas’s new fuck.’
‘Really, why?’ He sounded almost amused.
‘She’s a walking cliché. I don’t understand what Thomas sees in her.’
‘So you don’t think she tore your family apart?’
Annika gripped her cutlery tightly. ‘Well, of course she did. If it hadn’t been for her, I’d have my children with me all the time.’
Jimmy Halenius scooped some potato on to his fork. ‘Do you really believe that?’ he said. ‘Didn’t you and Thomas do a pretty good job of tearing your family apart without anyone else’s help?’
She was so taken aback that she dropped her knife. ‘What the hell would you know about that?’ she said.
He gave a short laugh. ‘Oh,’ he said, ‘I don’t know anything about the two of you. I just know what mistakes I made. I was awful to live with. I didn’t communicate. I could start a world war about the tiniest things, but when it came to the really big issues I just expected her to know what I wanted. And now I’ve started four sentences with “I”. I’m fairly self-absorbed as well. Did I mention that?’
She burst out laughing. ‘That could have been
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