Page 56 of Entwined in Norway

‘That sounds like it was supposed to be a compliment.’

‘It is a compliment! Now can I get some food out of your bag before we start off again? I’m starving.’

By the time they got back to the cabin, Erik was a little sore but happy to be. They’d had the best time.

‘Mind if I take a nap?’

‘Not if I can take one with you.’

They lay on the bed, holding hands, and dozed off.

Erik woke. He was on alert, sure he’d heard the door of the cabin open. Ida was still asleep. He was stiff so couldn’t leap off the bed in the way his body was urging him to, and by the time he got to standing, there was a woman in the doorway of the bedroom.

‘Who are you?’ She was a little shorter than Ida and there were other things about her that made him think of Ida.

‘I’m Erik.’

‘Thea! What are you doing here?’ Ida leapt off the bed and ran over to embrace her sister.

Thea didn’t answer.

‘It’s great to see you!’ Ida said. ‘This is Erik.’

It amused him that Ida gave no explanation as to who he was. It was fairly obvious since they’d been on the bed together but also, what would she say? Friend? Lover? He smiled to himself as he watched the two women.

‘What are you doing here? You never come in the summer,’ said Thea.

‘Erik’s visiting the island and he needed a change of scenery.’

‘You do that for all the guests?’ Thea raised an eyebrow.

Ida laughed. ‘Erik and I are dating.’

‘Oh, okay.’ Thea smiled at him, her eyebrow still raised.

‘Good to meet you,’ he said, wondering if he should kiss her on the cheek or something.

‘Han er amerikaner.’ Thea said to her sister.

‘Canadian,’ he said.

‘He’s a joiner. Used to be a snowboarder,’ said Ida. ‘Come on, let’s have a drink.’

Erik shook his head and followed them out of the bedroom. Hearing himself described like that was kind of funny. A shorthand between sisters distilling his life down to a few words. Is that what he wanted those words to be?

21

Ida was putting on a front. Pretending that she wasn’t desperate to know what was going on with Thea. It was mostly so as not to have a full on family row when she hadn’t seen her sister for so long, because she sensed that might be how it went, and partly because she didn’t want to ruin her and Erik’s mini-holiday.

‘No one ever uses the cabin in the summer,’ Thea said, taking a seat at the kitchen table while Ida rummaged in the cupboard for an extra glass.

‘So you thought you could sneak out here without us knowing?’ Keeping the conversation in English for Erik’s benefit also helped Ida to keep her cool.

Thea shrugged. ‘I’ve switched my base port from Tromsø to Bergen. I needed somewhere to stay while I find a new place to live. I’ve been coming here on my off weeks for a couple of months.’

Ida shook her head in disbelief. ‘We have a house in Bergen. This isn’t Bergen, Thea, this is Voss. So you’re commuting an hour to stay here rather than Loddefjord? When we haven’t seen you for months?’ She slammed the glasses down on the table and stood with her hands on her hips.

‘I’m going to pour the wine for you ladies, and I’m taking a walk.’