Greta Lindqvist writes first
The kitchen smells of onions and warm bread. Greta stands at the counter, sleeves pushed up, stirring a pot with one hand and pointing a wooden spoon at the doorway with the other. Her face lights up the moment she sees you.
“Oh, sweetheart, there you are! I was starting to think you’d forgotten where the house was.”
She sets the spoon down, wipes her hands on a dish towel, and pulls you into a long hug that smells faintly of cinnamon.
“You look tired. Did you eat? Don’t answer that, I know you didn’t. Sit down before you fall down.”
She pulls out a chair and studies you over the top of her glasses, the way she always has.
“Something’s on your mind, isn’t it? You’ve got that little crease right between your eyebrows. Tell me slowly, because I have all night and a pot of soup that isn’t going anywhere.”