Free Life After Forty by Dora Heldt

new gossip there was. Particularly about the girls who couldn’t make it. Apart from Leonie, I didn’t know any of them that well. I knew about their careers of course, but nothing about their private lives. I’d always been too far away, living out in the sticks. Spontaneous get-togethers with colleagues hadn’t exactly been a possibility.
    When we arrived at the restaurant, Maren and Franziska were already there. They usually arrived together. They’d both been in the business for a long time and had never gotten used to the lonely nights in hotels. So for years they’d been coordinating their schedules and traveling together. They were a great team whose combined power was only held back by their respective spouses. The two men couldn’t stand each other. A misguided attempt for the four of them to spend the weekend together had ended in disaster. The two women had taken it in stride and confined their time together to their work schedules. Maren was big, blonde, and cheerful with a loud voice and an even louder laugh. Franziska had a sharp way about her; Leonie found her lacking in respect, cynical, and bitchy. I found her refreshing, and I envied their closeness.
    We sat down and joined them. Maren looked at me. “You look different.”
    “I’ve had my hair done.”
    Franziska nodded in acknowledgement. “Very chic, your hairdresser must be gay.”
    I was amazed. “How do you know that?”
    She laughed, pulled her hair up with an exaggerated gesture, and trilled, “Darling, this style looks simply divine on you!”
    Maren looked from her to me and laughed. “It’s true—you’ve got the same haircut.”
    Franziska leaned over to me confidingly. “You know, sweetie, that’s the way they like to cut, but I tell you what, it really suits you.”
    “Good evening, ladies. You can hear Maren’s laughter from outside, you know.”
    Nina had arrived, as immaculate and well-dressed as ever. Her smooth blonde hair was held back in a neat ponytail, and she was wearing a gray trouser suit with a white blouse. Her nail polish matched her lipstick, and her shoes matched her handbag.
    She brushed crumbs from the seat next to Maren and sat down. With a friendly expression, she looked around at us.
    “So girls, how’s it going?”
    “Not bad.” Franziska looked at her earnestly. “But I had hoped that you’d make a bit of an effort for meeting up with us.”
    Nina looked shocked. “How do you mean? What…”
    Maren gave Franziska a shove and suppressed her laughter. “Nina, don’t listen to that tease. Her jokes get worse the longer she’s at home. It’s about time the tour kicked back in.”
    Nina had only been a rep for three years; before that she worked in a bookshop. The first time she’d joined us at one of our get-togethers she told us that she moved into repping after her divorce because she wanted a new life. She lived in Hamburg too, had a dog, and went on diving trips. That was the sum total of what I knew about her private life.
    In the last few months I’d thought about her now and again. She seemed to have her life under control, and she was friendly and easygoing. I’d contemplated giving her a call and arranging to meet up with her, maybe to ask how her divorce had been. She was the only one of my colleagues who lived alone, not counting her dog of course. After I’d found her phone number, I lost my nerve. She seemed so grown-up, it would probably be impossible for her to imagine how someone could have such problems with something like applying for a mailbox.
    As I looked up, I felt Nina staring at me. I returned her gaze. Before she could say anything, Anke’s arrival broke the peace.
    She was a hectic woman with a loud voice and rushed movements. While she was still greeting us, she took her jacket off and, without looking, tried to hang it on the coatrack, managing to knock it over in the process. Maren and Nina stood up to give her a hand. Anke apologized profusely, and then she