Danish Visitors

25 years ago my brother, a teacher in London, committed suicide. As his next of kin I had to sort things out. I requested that his post was redirected to my home. A letter arrived from some friends of his in Denmark that he'd met whilst teaching over there. It was obvious they had no idea what had happened and said that they were looking forward to staying with him very soon, as arranged. Immediately I rang International Directory Enqueries and discovered that they must have been the only people in Denmark not to be on the 'phone. I wrote a letter to them and rushed off to the Post Office, sending it by the quickest method available. However, I was very worried they would arrive at his flat not knowing what had happened and wondering where he was. I live about hour from London, in a road that has residential parking only and in those days I sold visitors permits to neighbours who needed them. Opposite me lived a young Danish couple, who I saw very rarely and spoke to even less. But on this day she knocked on my door asking for a permit. I felt like an idiot but I decided to tell her about the letter and ask her help. She asked where in Denmark the friends lived, I told her, and she said there was more than one Nykobing. So, I showed her the address on the letter, she went rather pale and said that until the previous month her father lived in that road, but he had recently moved round the corner! She went back home, rang her father, he went to visit the friends and they rang me, from his home, I think. The story had a happy ending as they came to stay with me instead, we are still friends and they are planning to visit me this year.