#Leonie is a woman in her 40s, she could be your neighbor. After her divorce, she builds a new life with her three children. Her parents live nearby and her sister is expecting her second child. Her friend Ilse has relationship problems and her neighbor Mandy has dinner appointments of the good kind: Mandy cooks!

“Hai mom!” Julia shouted in the hallway when she got out of school. “Hai darling!” answered Leonie. “Well, Dad had bought a bunch of flowers,” Julia said as she looked up the picture of it in her phone and showed it to Leonie. Not a cheap forest, Leonie thought. She was just waiting to see what Julia was going to say. “I asked who they were for,” Julia said and dropped another silence to increase the tension. “Yes?” Leonie finally asked. “He wouldn't say it first, I saw him thinking. But he never normally buys that kind of forest, yes, in the past for you”, Julia nodded. “So in the end he said that Suzanne was his birthday and that they were for her,” Julia said triumphantly. “And then?” asked Leonie. “I asked if she was his girlfriend,” Julia continued. Leonie began to disturb the fact that Julia kept dropping long silences. “Yes?” she finally said to speed up the conversation. “He did very vague, said it was not, but he became suspiciously red and he began to stutter,” said Julia. Then she walked her bag to her bedroom.

When she came out of her room again, Leonie asked, “And what do you think?” Julia shocked. “I don't know. Weird, I guess. As long as it doesn't bother me. I think.” She suddenly looked down. Leonie pulled her on the couch with her. “If you know you can always talk to me about it, even if I do something wrong or something,” she said. In the back of her head, Frank's face popped up, but Leonie sent that image away. No, she wouldn't start a relationship. She didn't want to, even if it was just for the kids. They weren't ready yet.

In the evening the bell rang, Leonie walked to the door. Julia and Martijn were sitting in front of the television and Ismay was already asleep. It was Mandy in her flight attendant uniform. “Hi, honey, do you have time? I just came from work and I need some company. Can we have a drink?” Leonie invited a step backwards to let Mandy come in. “My children are there, of course,” Leonie said as she walked after Mandy into the living room. “Ohw,” said Mandy, but still went on.


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