Acts of Infidelity_A Novel by Lena Andersson & Saskia Vogel

Author:Lena Andersson & Saskia Vogel [Andersson, Lena & Vogel, Saskia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B07FZLY664
Publisher: Other Press
Published: 2019-04-23T00:00:00+00:00

That night Ester attended a dinner meeting with fellow members of the editorial board of a magazine about politics, society and ideas. The meeting was held at Elverket on Östermalm where meticulous rustic food was served alongside dishes-in-miniature and foamed sauces.

Ester liked these editorial meetings. Interesting conversations were always had, giving her new material to contemplate, and something always came up that she’d never before considered. They met four times a year, which was seldom enough for intrigues not to develop, in spite of the ideological tensions in the group.

They decided that the next themed issue would be dedicated to philosophy of the mind and the problem of free will from a political and judicial perspective. Considering the latest research about the brain, how should a modern judicial system be shaped?

They divided topics between them, to be further investigated, and discussed which articles they’d assign to other writers.

By eleven o’clock, they’d wrapped up. Ester walked for a while with one of the other board members, an economist who was pragmatic in her moral perspective and for whom pragmatism was the only principle, and so they didn’t share many views, but Ester thought she was pleasant, not to mention well-read and conversant. They often kept each other company after the meetings and talked about modern tendencies. This time was different; Ester immediately started talking about the Olof situation. Because she wasn’t safely in the harbour, she had an urgent need to talk. She was still hoping that someone would be able to explain what she couldn’t understand: why the men she went out with couldn’t stay away from her and yet wanted so little and set so many boundaries. This behaviour was foreign to her, she who in romance either wanted or did not, never giving a second thought to the difference.

The other woman responded with unexpected severity. She encouraged Ester to break up post-haste or to stop hoping that Olof would get divorced and resign herself to the crumbs being thrown her way. These were the only two options and she had to make a decision if she didn’t want to face even greater unhappiness.

They walked up Kungsgatan, alone but for the odd night walker and dog owner. Ester said that for the life of her, she couldn’t imagine why you’d want to stay with a wife you weren’t happy with if you’d met someone you’d preferred.

‘It’s not a question of rather or more,’ said the economist. ‘He wants a little of both and to assure himself that the resources will never run out.’

‘But the sum gets diminished this way. Everything is halved and less complete than it would otherwise be.’

‘He doesn’t think so. From his perspective, it’s like a friendship. You prefer to have more than one friend, don’t you? Otherwise, it simply isn’t smart. You risk suddenly finding yourself very lonely. You have different friends for different functions and needs, right? He does, too, but the difference is that they’re secret and he’s sleeping with them.’

‘But I’m not

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