Page 64 of Entwined in Norway

‘It is,’ she agreed.

‘You know, whatever happens, Ida. This has been one of the best times of my life.’

She looked at him, a mixture of worry and affection in her eyes. ‘Me too. Whatever happens.’

It felt like an acknowledgement for both of them that what was to come might not be all good. They had to let it play out. That was why he’d come here. Did Ida have an inkling? He was pretty sure she did. And he also knew that both of them were smart enough to realise that making any promises to each other beyond having spent a great couple of weeks together was impossible. The best he could hope for was that somehow they could both take these two weeks and realise that maybe they’d helped each other to move on.

23

One of Ida’s strengths, developed over the difficult last few years of her life, was that she was great at compartmentalising. When her parents had needed her, she’d switched her old life off, moved home and navigated that transition because it was what she had to do. Then, when they’d gone, she successfully stayed living in the house in Loddefjord without having a breakdown every time she came across something that sparked a memory. And that had made her stronger.

Now, she was painfully aware that when they left Voss, Erik was probably going to tell her he owned the island or something equally bad. And she was happy to leave that aside for now. This holiday in Voss had reminded her that the world was bigger than Lysgården, bigger than Bergen, and bigger than her family. She loved them, but this was the first time she’d left Bergen in years without them, and the distance felt good. There was extra space in her head for other things now. She wasn’t sure what, but being away was like stepping off a treadmill she’d been on for years. She thought she’d stepped off it by working for Mats, but really she’d stepped onto a new version of the treadmill she was already on. Maybe now, when she went back, she could start building her life differently so that this space she’d created could still be there and be filled with something new.

When they got back to the cabin, Thea was pottering in the kitchen, making something that smelled delicious.

‘Do you have time for dinner before you leave?’ She was sipping a bottle of beer while she stirred something on the stove.

‘I hope so,’ Erik said. ‘That smells so good.’

‘If we pack now, we can eat before we leave,’ Ida said.

‘What have you been doing?’

‘We went on a bike ride,’ Ida said.

‘Did you?’ Thea raised her eyebrows in surprise.

‘Yep. And took a dip in the lake,’ Erik said, sneaking a look at Ida, who couldn’t stop herself blushing.

‘Okay. You have twenty minutes while I cook the rice.’

Erik announced he was going to jump in the shower, and Ida helped herself to one of Thea’s beers.

‘I’ve made an appointment to look at a house,’ Ida told her sister.

‘Where? In Bergen?’

‘In Sandviken.’

‘Oh, lovely. Will you have a spare room for a homeless sister?’

Ida laughed. ‘Yes, unless Emil’s staying over.’

‘I don’t mind sharing with Emil. Fred said they’re going over to see Kristi in a couple of weeks.’ It was always like this when they hadn’t talked in a while. The conversation veered all over the place as different things to catch up on occurred to them.

‘It makes me so nervous. Emil needs to see his mother, but it’s hard on all of them.’

‘Fred should draw a line under it. I can’t believe they’re still married.’

‘He’s doing it for Emil,’ Ida said.

‘I know. But Fred deserves better than that. They both do.’ Thea turned the rice down to a simmer and sat at the table with Ida. ‘So you enjoyed the bike ride?’

‘Yes. I was a bit rusty.’

‘It must be twenty years since you rode a bike. It’s definitely that long for me.’

‘Exactly!’ she laughed. ‘Erik loved it. He was trying to be gentlemanly, letting me set the pace, but once there was a hint of speed going downhill, he sailed past me.’