Saturday, May 17

We had an early breakfast this morning because Naa needed to be at the airport by 10:00. She had packed last night, and so we were at the airport about thirty minutes early. We drove around and finally parked. When we got inside Terminal 2 we spotted Roosa sitting in a corner, wearing bright red Doctor Martens. Within ten minutes most of Naa’s class had arrived, and we said goodbye. Naa’s tacher, Raija, arrived as we left.

We drove straight from the airport to Sundö, where we started gardening. To my delight the bamboo seems to be giving up. The rear of the garden is covered in thick grass for the first time, and I pulled up the few feeble bamboo shoots that I could see. I also cleared up all the twigs from last autumn and winter. Irma went to get gasoline and we started the mower. Irma loves mowing, and I was happy to see her momentarily distracted by a passing pleasure.

Auo seemed everywhere in the house and garden. The rope hanging from the tree was waiting for me to put her swingchair up, and I had a very clear image of her hassling until I did it. Today there didn’t seem any point even checking where the swing chair was.

Irma went to see Camilla, and to give Ann-Sofie her birthday present. She is having a party tonight but we have decided not to stay. We are sceptical about exactly how warm the house will be overnight, and the cat escaped this morning before we left for the airport.

Irma was a lot longer than I expected, and the sun was blazing hot, so I got a sunchair out and lay in it for almost an hour. Now I am up again, because I heard my phone and found a message from Naa saying that they were all safely in Berlin now. I am looking at the shed where she sleeps and wondering if I should put the mower away. I decide not to.

We will leave on the 16:30 ferry, and I will find myself thinking about Auo as we wait for the ferry to arrive. The ice-cream kiosk is not yet in place and this will cause me to wonder how long it would have been before she managed to get the summer job selling ice-cream. She already had her eye on it last year and would certainly have talked her way into it in the next year or two. Earning money by sitting in a hut full of free ice-cream: that would have been a job she could not resist.

When we get home Irma will decide we should have spritzers. To this end she has bought some sparkling water. Unfortunately it is flavoured with karpelo, which I suspect is redcurrant. It will turn the wine into exactly the kind of soap-tasting “cider” that we avoid at all costs.

Do not try this at home!