Unspoken

turned fifty, and he was meticulous about his appearance. He was always dressed in a sporty and youthful manner. On principle, he never ate lunch with his colleagues; instead, he preferred to make use of his pass to the gym in the television building. He was tall, slim, and trim. He looked good for his age. Max Grenfors was married to an attractive woman who was fifteen years younger and an aerobics instructor.
    When the editor finally put down the phone, Johan told him what Jacobsson had said.
    “Let’s wait and see what Knutas has to say. It’s too late for you to go over there today, unless they have something really significant to report. From here you can put together some text for the anchorman, so that we can at least keep the pot boiling. You and Peter can fly over tomorrow if it seems worthwhile.”
    That evening Johan went out with his friend Andreas. They started at the Vampire Lounge on Östgötagatan, where the drinks were cheap and the atmosphere relaxed. The female bartender had short cropped hair and was dressed all in black and wore big earrings. When she turned around to rinse some glasses, a tattoo was visible at the small of her back. She mixed each of them a frozen margarita in a glass with a spiral stem. The bar was filled with a relatively young crowd, most of them with a pack of Marlboro Lights in front of them on the bar. In the restaurants at lunchtime hardly anyone ever smoked, but in the evenings nearly everyone had a cigarette hanging from their lips.
    “You seem a little out of sorts,” said Andreas after they had run through the usual chitchat about their work and various sports events.
    “Not really, just a little tired,” said Johan as he lit a cigarette, like everyone else in the place.
    “How are things going with your Gotland girlfriend, Emma?”
    “Good, but it’s tough, too, you know. With her husband and kids and everything.”
    Andreas shook his head. “Why are you getting mixed up with a married woman who has little kids? And who lives on Gotland! Could you make your life any more complicated?”
    “I know,” said Johan with a sigh. “But you don’t understand because you’ve never really been in love with anyone.”
    “What the hell to you mean? Of course I have. I was with Ellen for five years,” Andreas protested.
    “Sure, but what do you really know about love? You had your doubts the whole time. You were always grumbling about one thing or another. The fact that she was a vegetarian, that she was always late, that she was messy, and that she didn’t seem to have any plan for her life. And the fact that she kept studying and studying, but it never led anywhere and she never had any money. Have you forgotten about all that?”
    Andreas let out a roar of laughter.
    “Of course not, but do you know what she ended up doing? I ran into her downtown a month ago. Newly married with a baby on the way. She lives in Saltsjöbaden and is head of a big advertising agency. And on top of that, she’s damn cute!”
    “You see? You never can tell about anyone!” said Johan, laughing.
    They started talking to three cheerful girls from Västberga, and then they all continued on to Kvarnen, the legendary Södermalm pub. Johan ran into some of his journalist colleagues and got into such an intense discussion about worldwide current events that both Andreas and the girls got bored and left.
    When Johan caught a cab home around three in the morning, Emma was once more on his mind. What was she doing right now? He wanted to send her a text message but restrained himself. They had agreed that it would be her turn to call next.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1
    Olle had suddenly called and invited her home for dinner. Finally she would be able to see the children. It was not even a week since she had last seen them, but it felt like a month—at least. She had called the night before and had a chance to talk to them for the first time since she was thrown out of the house. Both Sara and Filip sounded happy and strangely unaffected, in spite of everything that had happened. She wondered what was going on inside their young heads.
    During the week various scenarios had fluttered through her mind. One moment it seemed right to get a divorce; the next she wanted nothing more than to be a family again, and she wished that she had never met Johan.
    In the middle of everything she became very aware of the fragility of life. She was surrounded by stage sets that were ostensibly solid, but