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smoke and mince, and then sell most of what they have
gathered to other people and various outlets. But if I have
understood their marital conspiracy right, they take plenty
of breaks and have lots of cosy times together, completely
oblivious of my presence and my unsatisfied needs.
*
‘Ragna!’ I call out one afternoon, my voice perhaps
unnecessarily sharp, but it’s because I feel up to things and
much better. ‘Ragna!’ I call out again. ‘Have you
remembered what I asked you about?’
Everything goes quiet in the kitchen.
‘What’s that, then?’ comes the piercing reply after a while.
‘Books,’ I say sternly, my voice out of control. ‘Why didn’t
you bring any home last time?’
I can hear them moving around uneasily in there.
‘Books?’
‘Yes, books. At the library. It’s ages since you were last
there.’
‘What a bloody fusspot,’ Johan says quietly, as if to himself.