They are not especially close, but Laura is still tied to her. Laura's uneventful life is changed in a sudden moment of daring. Walking in Amsterdam Laura sees a woman and picks her up. The lesbian love affair is decorously told. Laura's vague friends disapprove, but she simply no longer sees them.
People comment, but there is little outright discrimination.
For their part the two women are not loudly homosexual, not frequenting lesbian bars or discos, or flaunting their love. After a few months the relationship is both settling in and unwinding. Laura's inability to conceive was apparently one of the reasons for her divorce. Sylvia becomes more distant, and finally moves out, initially lying to Laura about where she intends to go. Mulisch is in some danger of making the story too melodramatic, but as a story of love and passion the melodrama is acceptable.