Read Let the Old Dreams Die for Free Online

away. On the rare occasions when they really did quarrel, there was a huge store of assorted unresolved issues to be tipped out and hurled at one another.
    Tara was whining in Roland’s room, and Tina had just started wondering how she was going to get through the evening when the problem solved itself: Göran rang to say the baby had started. Did she have time to drive them to the hospital?
    She certainly did.
    Elisabet and Göran sat in the back of the car, their arms wrapped around each other. Their older children were fifteen and twelve, and were fine on their own. Göran explained that they had had the foresight to buy a new video game a month ago, ready to hand over when the time came.
    Tina murmured something appropriate and concentrated on her driving. The windscreen wipers were working at full speed, swishing spasmodically back and forth without managing to clear the water completely. Her tyres were worn down to the point of illegality, and she didn’t dare go over fifty in case of aquaplaning. There might have been an evil Tina inside her wishing miscarriage and misery on her passengers, but the Tina behind the wheel had no intention of crashing the car with a pregnant woman in the back seat.
    Just as long as we don’t have a thunderstorm.
    Thunder and lightning could still knock her completely off course. Admittedly the car, with its rubber insulation on the ground, was the place she preferred to be during a thunderstorm, but not while she was
driving
.
    As they passed Spillersboda the rain eased off and visibility improved. She glanced at the back seat. Elisabet was bent over, her face contorted with pain as she leaned against her husband.
    ‘How’s it going?’ asked Tina.
    ‘Fine,’ Göran replied. ‘But I think the contractions are quite close now.’
    Tina increased her speed to seventy. She was revolted by the thought that the child might be born in her car. The smell emanating from Elisabet was anything but pleasant. It would cling to the upholstery for months.
    They arrived at the hospital and Göran half led, half carried Elisabet to the maternity unit. Tina stood by the car for a moment, unsure what to do, then she followed them. It had more or less stopped raining; there was just a film of drizzle hanging in the air.
    As they walked into the hospital a couple of nurses immediately came over to Elisabet, and the little group set off with Göran two paces behind. He didn’t even glance in Tina’s direction. Her job was done, and she no longer had anything to do with the proceedings. She stood in the corridor and watched them disappear round a corner.
    How were they intending to get home?
    Did they expect her to sit here and wait?
    If so, they were going to be disappointed. Tina opened and closed her hands, gazing at the spot where they had vanished.
    A nurse came over and asked, ‘Has someone been to help you?’
    ‘No,’ replied Tina. ‘But I don’t need any help, thank you.’
    The nurse smelled more strongly of hospital than the building itself, and Tina quickly made for the exit. Only when she was outside in the carpark did she dare to breathe again. That smell of disinfected clothes and antiseptic soap almost brought on a panic attack. It went back a long way. She remembered being terrified all the time when she had been in hospital after being struck by lightning. Just wanting to go home.
    It was quarter to seven, and the storm had blown over as quickly as it had come. There wasn’t a cloud in the deep blue evening sky, and the half-moon was as sharp as a blade. She pushed her hands deep in her pockets and strolled over towards the residential home for the elderly.
    Her father was watching
Jeopardy
. ‘Viktor Sjöström, you idiot!’ he muttered at a contestant who thought
The Phantom Carriage
had been directed by Ingmar Bergman. The next question was about the director of
Sir Arne’s Treasure
, and when the same contestant went for Bergman again, her father said, ‘Turn it off,