All Yoko could see from her window seat was a vast expanse of water beneath an endless blue sky. A glance at her iPhone, still four hours to go. Time for a nap or rather go through that file again ? Her husband would be waiting for her, she closed her eyes. A friendly voice …

Volop zon die ochtend op het Leidseplein, het was er dan ook erg druk. Terwijl ze van hun fiets stapten, keek Femke Peter met een glimlach aan. Ze was net terug van een reis naar Canada, ‘In Montreal waan je je af en toe in Frankrijk, vooral ‘s avonds waar het aan eters in goede …

Den Haag, stad van mijn dromen, maar dat is binnenkort voorbij. De dromen, niet jij Den Haag! ‘s-Gravenhage, je naam op chique dagen, was je ooit niet het jachtgebied van de graaf? La Haye, voor mij in het verre Parijs waar ik verkoos te wonen, het was er erg fijn. Den Haag, iedere twee maanden …

‘Lucky you, travelling on the first KLM non-stop to Boston, how I envy you!’

‘Have you ever tried to walk on eggshells?’

On board the last Thalys train back home, I reflect on the weekend spent in Brussels with Eef and Donato. I have always enjoyed their company, from that very first moment we had met in Rome on a warm evening in June, the three of us throwing coins in the Fontana di Trevi. I smile …

‘Net op tijd!’ There was relief in Leopold’s voice. Despite the early hour, they had been caught in bumper to bumper traffic as they approached Amsterdam Schiphol Airport where Herr Hartmann’s flight from Berlin was to land in about 10 minutes. It was the first time that Leopold accompanied his boss to pick up a client, but not just any client. ‘How long have you been working with Blumen- Krause?’ Saskia Verbeek smiled watching the arrivals, KL 1818 had landed and so much the better, a lot to do today! ‘Oh, for some thirty years, I was a teenager when my father signed his first contract with Helmut Krause after a long discussion in our glasshouse’. Leopold looked around, ‘There he is’ waving to a tall blond man in a dark suit already heading in their direction.

‘Mother’s Day next Sunday! Somebody has an idea for a gift?’ Martha’s mischievous look spoke volumes, ‘It’s more than time to discuss this highly relevant topic’. Her colleagues laughed, appreciating her sense of humour, again today. All knew about Martha’s unpleasant mother in far Groningen. Both were in all respects, far apart! ‘You’re kidding, Mother’s Day is only at the end of the month’. Their French colleague, Pauline looked up from her laptop. Their French colleague, Pauline looked up from her laptop. ‘ I bought already my Thalys ticket, my mom won’t survive, misère!’ she sighed. A low voice interrupted them, ‘You do not seem to know that our mothers are celebrated all around the world, but not on the same day’.

‘We could spend our holidays in the south of France this summer, what do you think?’ Jonas looked up from his sautéed foie gras, his broad smile speaking volumes. ‘Such a long time we haven’t set foot there, you remember our hotel in Aix en Provence?’ Of course I do, but funny that you’re talking about France. Haven’t you read the newspapers? All those strikes!’ Tanja’s somewhat pessimistic slant made him creepy. ‘They are on strike now, not next summer’ he said a little stiffly.

-’When is your job-interview ? And tell me, have you prepared for it ? Jean-Luc hardly listened to his father. ’Prepared ? What can you prepare for in an interview ? —’What do you know about the Dutch culture, son ? You want to change jobs, normal, you’re almost 30 now, but are you aware that in The Netherlands things are different from here’. — ’I will be working for an American company there’. Too bad that he was so stubborn, his father realized again. Never in his life Jean-Luc had had interest for the Dutch language, something his father regretted, in particular now that his son wanted thatjob of Software Developer in Amsterdam. Dutch would have been a plus. He would not fail to discover it himself, his father sighed, ending the phonecall.