days as in Holland; here there’s been low pressure, gales, whirling snowstorms, and drifting snow all around.
Hanna is late getting to the restaurant, but she is still the first one there. She smiles to herself, glad to be back home, where it is quite natural to be a bit unpunctual. The restaurant only serves healthy vegetarian dishes, and she reads the menu with mistrust. Having lived with Frederico for years, her taste in food has become rather Italian, and she is not keen on superhealthy food. In the end she orders vegetable lasagna just as Gudny arrives at the table, and she orders the same without asking what it is. She is out of breath and explains she is late because the road across the moor was in a bad state.
“I took my own car. I’m more at ease in a Jeep out in the country,” she says. “Then I parked the car outside the parliament building and got caught up in a snowstorm walking across here!” She brushes the snow from her blonde highlights; any hairstyle she may have had has now been blown away.
“But it was fun over at the prison,” she says, laughing. “An amazing woman has taken over there.” Gudny is referring to the new prison chief who has revamped operations. “She’s really giving these men an opportunity,” she says. “We were also talking about the young ones; a case came up the other day about a youngster who wanted to go to prison rather than to a young offenders’ institution out in the countryside.”
Smiling, covered in snow, and rosy-cheeked, she shakes her head in surprise. Hanna looks at her fondly, at her big smile. Hearing her familiar, lively laughter, Hanna is pleased to see her friend again, and her concerns about
The Birches
and thedisagreement between the artists pale in significance compared to all that Gudny has to deal with in her job as minister of justice. Gudny makes light of it and praises her colleagues. The signs of weariness are not lost on Hanna, but she sees that Gudny is enjoying her work and she’s glad for her. Gudny always wanted to go far.
By the time Laufey arrives, they have already begun eating, and, again, Hanna feels how important their friendship is to her. She does not have much contact with her family now that her parents have died; she never was close to her half brothers and sisters. It is her friends who are her link between the past and the present, between her life before she moved abroad and her life now. They have known one another for about twenty years, some of them for longer. The bonds of friendship have not broken even though they seldom meet.
“They’ve both grown taller than me,” Laufey is saying proudly of her two sons. She is sitting in a thick padded anorak with an African band wrapped around her head as always, and she seems untouched by age. They talk about their children; Gudny answers her phone. It’s hectic in the restaurant; people are coming and going and they each keep glancing up at the clock. There is more stress here than in Amsterdam, despite the lack of punctuality. Gudny is talking to someone on the phone about a group of youngsters who were arrested downtown in a derelict house recently. Hanna hears what she is saying without eavesdropping, but when Gudny mentions graffiti, Hanna is all ears. When Gudny hangs up, Hanna tells her how some of the city’s outdoor artworks have been vandalized.
“I think I know which kids we’re talking about, Hanna,” replies Gudny with her mouth full. The phone rings again, butshe turns it to silent and slips it into her bag. “Now I can eat in peace for a moment,” she says with a broad grin.
“Do you really think it’s them?” asks Hanna, surprised. “The ones you were talking about, who were arrested?”
Gudny swallows and nods. “Exactly. They’re a small gang, maybe four to six kids, one is only thirteen. They’ve been graffitiing on walls in derelict buildings in town, both inside and out. There’s very little we can do about it. The police take them
Hanna is late getting to the restaurant, but she is still the first one there. She smiles to herself, glad to be back home, where it is quite natural to be a bit unpunctual. The restaurant only serves healthy vegetarian dishes, and she reads the menu with mistrust. Having lived with Frederico for years, her taste in food has become rather Italian, and she is not keen on superhealthy food. In the end she orders vegetable lasagna just as Gudny arrives at the table, and she orders the same without asking what it is. She is out of breath and explains she is late because the road across the moor was in a bad state.
“I took my own car. I’m more at ease in a Jeep out in the country,” she says. “Then I parked the car outside the parliament building and got caught up in a snowstorm walking across here!” She brushes the snow from her blonde highlights; any hairstyle she may have had has now been blown away.
“But it was fun over at the prison,” she says, laughing. “An amazing woman has taken over there.” Gudny is referring to the new prison chief who has revamped operations. “She’s really giving these men an opportunity,” she says. “We were also talking about the young ones; a case came up the other day about a youngster who wanted to go to prison rather than to a young offenders’ institution out in the countryside.”
Smiling, covered in snow, and rosy-cheeked, she shakes her head in surprise. Hanna looks at her fondly, at her big smile. Hearing her familiar, lively laughter, Hanna is pleased to see her friend again, and her concerns about
The Birches
and thedisagreement between the artists pale in significance compared to all that Gudny has to deal with in her job as minister of justice. Gudny makes light of it and praises her colleagues. The signs of weariness are not lost on Hanna, but she sees that Gudny is enjoying her work and she’s glad for her. Gudny always wanted to go far.
By the time Laufey arrives, they have already begun eating, and, again, Hanna feels how important their friendship is to her. She does not have much contact with her family now that her parents have died; she never was close to her half brothers and sisters. It is her friends who are her link between the past and the present, between her life before she moved abroad and her life now. They have known one another for about twenty years, some of them for longer. The bonds of friendship have not broken even though they seldom meet.
“They’ve both grown taller than me,” Laufey is saying proudly of her two sons. She is sitting in a thick padded anorak with an African band wrapped around her head as always, and she seems untouched by age. They talk about their children; Gudny answers her phone. It’s hectic in the restaurant; people are coming and going and they each keep glancing up at the clock. There is more stress here than in Amsterdam, despite the lack of punctuality. Gudny is talking to someone on the phone about a group of youngsters who were arrested downtown in a derelict house recently. Hanna hears what she is saying without eavesdropping, but when Gudny mentions graffiti, Hanna is all ears. When Gudny hangs up, Hanna tells her how some of the city’s outdoor artworks have been vandalized.
“I think I know which kids we’re talking about, Hanna,” replies Gudny with her mouth full. The phone rings again, butshe turns it to silent and slips it into her bag. “Now I can eat in peace for a moment,” she says with a broad grin.
“Do you really think it’s them?” asks Hanna, surprised. “The ones you were talking about, who were arrested?”
Gudny swallows and nods. “Exactly. They’re a small gang, maybe four to six kids, one is only thirteen. They’ve been graffitiing on walls in derelict buildings in town, both inside and out. There’s very little we can do about it. The police take them
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