HIS SON SAMI and Meredith, the daughter of a woman colleague of his, were rolling about on the floor in front of him, and he wondered vaguely why the daughter of two Finns was called Meredith, and when and in what circumstances you had to trace a sexual component in this kind of childish playfulness.
He had read something on the subject only recently, an interesting article in a psychological journal, but he couldn’t remember the exact content of the article now, probably because what was happening on the TV screen was distracting his thoughts.
Now came the advertising break. A beautiful melody provided the background music for a car company’s inane advertising spot.
‘What was that about?’ asked Seppo.
He turned to him and the other guests who were still sitting at the table, dipping their fondue skewers into the hot oil.
‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘That … that was a patient of mine.’
‘A patient of yours? On the Hämäläinen show?’ asked Seppo.
‘Er, yes.’
‘The lady who was sitting there just now?’ asked Sami, who was lying on the floor sweating and taking advantage of a moment when Meredith left him alone.
He nodded.
‘No, don’t! Stop! Stop it!’ cried Sami, because Meredith had begun tickling him again.
‘How did she acquit herself?’ asked Seppo.
‘Hm?’
‘Your patient,’ said Seppo.
‘Oh. I … I don’t really know,’ he said.
‘Leave the box on, will you?’ said another guest. ‘Kapanen’s going to be on next. The actor. I’d be interested to see him.’
He nodded, and decided to call Salme Salonen first thing in the morning.
Then he stood up and went back to the table.