Caroline

Caroline lives in De Pijp and comes out to Schiphol only on a time agreed in advance, which she considers the courteous way to treat somebody's flight. She reads the ticket before she reads the guest: a seven-hour gap with a room held until evening is a different booking from a room held for three hours. Tantra is what she offers people whose jet lag has left them wide awake. Spanish comes out quickly when she laughs and English slowly when she explains, and at twenty-nine she has stopped apologising for the pace.

Caroline decides which bookings she takes and may decline any of them; she sets the limits for what a session includes, says what they are, and may end a visit at any point, as the terms set out.