Page 12 of Entwined in Norway

‘Is the hotel as nice as it looked online?’

‘It’s really fancy inside. The outside looks as if it could still be a farmhouse. My room is in the roof and I can’t stand up in the shower.’

She laughed again.

‘They did warn me, it’s okay. I already feel like I’ve been here a long time. I’m kind of bored, but also I love it.’

‘Is it very small, the island?’

‘I’ve already walked the length of it. It’s small. I mean, I’m not stuck here. I could take a boat to Bergen, or kayak across to the mainland. I might do that tomorrow.’

‘Do you think it’s the place?’

‘I’m pretty sure.’

‘Oh, honey, that’s wonderful. And how are you doing? How’s your leg feeling?’

‘I’m good, Mom.’ Even if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t tell her. Sometimes she figured out when he was lying, but he actually did feel good right now and he didn’t want her worrying about him all the time. He was an adult. She shouldn’t have to.

‘It’s great to hear your voice. Thanks for calling. We love you.’

‘Love you too, Mom.’

He stayed and drank his coffee. It was hard to remember that there was nothing he had to do. Nothing he could do. Perhaps he should have brought a book with him.

Just as he was thinking about switching from coffee to beer before dinner, Ida came into the lounge. She scanned the room as she walked through, making a beeline for him.

‘Mr Anderson.’

‘Erik.’

‘I hear you took a swim in the fjord. We don’t advise that any guest goes into the water alone. It’s too cold. You could get into trouble.’

‘I was fine.’

She looked at him with a smile on her face, but he could tell she was thinking about how to say whatever it was she wanted to say next politely.

‘Should I have asked for a chaperone?’ He couldn’t help himself.

‘Of course not. You shouldn’t have gone in.’

‘There weren’t any signs.’

‘Most people don’t want to. It’s freezing.’

‘I enjoyed it.’

‘Well. If you decide to do it again, at least tell the reception desk so we know what’s happened to you if you don’t come back.’ She was waiting for him to agree to her terms, but he was having fun now. For the first time in a while.

‘Don’t you ever take a swim, Ida?’

She snorted. ‘No. Drowning or freezing to death doesn’t really appeal to me.’

‘So you don’t want to come with me next time?’

‘No. Thank you.’ She turned and walked away, but he thought he might have seen her smile as she did. A proper smile, not the smile she used for guests.

As he watched her leave the room, he noticed a bookshelf in a nook next to the fireplace. Reading wasn’t usually his thing, but sitting out on the deck with a beer in one hand and a book in the other was something he decided he wanted to do. He had half an hour to kill. The books on offer were mostly crime and thriller titles, which seemed at odds with the relaxing vibe of the hotel, but then he was in Nordic Noir country, so perhaps not that surprising. He chose a thriller by FL Thorne that he’d seen on the bestseller lists and had intended to read at some point, then strolled through the hallway in search of someone who could find him a beer.