Having spent some time with her female friends who had babies, Carolin was once again filled with the desire to see her son. With new enthusiasm, she kept embracing and kissing him. With tears in her eyes, she apologised to the three-month-old infant for having neglected him and swore to act differently from then on. Initially, she tried to fulfil her promise and eagerly learned about motherhood. Seeing all that, Evelyn tried to retreat and give way to the young mother, even though her heart was bleeding. But whenever she and Nathaniel watched from the kitchen as Caro sat in an armchair with the baby squealing in her arms, and the woman would just gaze out of the window with a fixed stare for long minutes, an ice cold shiver would run down their spine. Nate begged his mother not to go back
