An evening breeze brought the smell of the nearby sea and a drop in temperature that merited a thin cardigan.

Christina spread a blanket over the drunk siblings and received nods of grat.i.tude in return.

'No compet.i.tion there at least.' Christina sighed. 'By now he trusts me. He should, shouldn't he? Over twenty years.' She glanced over the scattered plates and gla.s.ses on the table and settled her eyes on Ulf's backside, a few metres ahead and years and years back in time. 'Has it really been that long?'

Sitting in a chair across the table Yukio stared at his old style watch in disbelief. It was half past eight and sunset was still almost two hours away.

She drank the last of her punsch. Most of their guests had finished dinner as well. It was time for after-dinner activities. A little bit like club hours back then.