Page 77 of Entwined in Norway

‘I know. It’s a good plan.’

‘You think so?’

‘Yes. You have to protect the future of Lysgården. Are you going to talk to the others?’

He shook his head. ‘I’m only asking you what you think because it’s Erik. And for what it’s worth, I think he was conflicted about this from the moment he met you. I’m sure that’s the only reason he didn’t mention it because he knew it would pit you against him.’

‘How could he know that?’

Mats chuckled. ‘Anyone who’s spoken to you for more than a couple of minutes would understand very quickly that you’re fiercely loyal. Imagine knowing that and then telling you he’s come to announce a claim to half your land. There was never going to be a good time to mention that once he knew you.’

Ida side-eyed her brother but she couldn’t disagree. There had been a spark between her and Erik from the start. Something that had persisted despite his grumpiness and her best efforts to avoid anything that could lead to more heartache than she could take. And if she was honest, she could have confronted him about his real reason for being in Norway the moment she’d suspected. And there was a reason she hadn’t.

‘So what are you going to do now?’

‘I’ll give him a call and see what he thinks. Do you want me to tell you what he says, how he is?’

Ida couldn’t bring herself to say yes. She gave Mats a tight nod and he nodded back in quiet understanding.

As if she didn’t have enough to deal with, Ida had completely forgotten about the appointment she’d made to view the yellow house in Sandviken. It was difficult to separate the fact that without Erik she would never have known about the house, with the fact that she’d rather not be thinking about him. In such a short space of time he’d become tangled up in so many parts of her life — not that there were many of them — but she knew if she didn’t view the house because of him, she’d regret it later.

She got dressed in some clothes that didn’t make her look like she hadn’t left the house for days, and caught the bus to Sandviken. The house was on a small street that led down to the water, so although it wasn’t on the water like the house in Loddefjord, there were far-reaching views across the fjord. It had steps up to the front door and a small veranda with enough room for a chair, maybe two. Then there was a tiny hallway with stairs that led to the bedrooms and down to the basement. The spacious lounge and kitchen were all one big, airy room and Ida fell in love with it straight away. She could picture an enormous sofa covered in blankets and cushions, facing the old cast-iron stove. A cosy rug on the wooden floor that looked good enough to keep after a serious polish. The kitchen was along one wall with a wide window overlooking the small garden where the fjord was visible on one side and the rest of the neighbourhood stretched back to Bergen on the other.

Upstairs, the bedrooms were traditional, with one slightly larger than the other taking up the entire width of the gable. A small square window in the middle of the gable end was the only thing in the room, and Ida thought it would be her room. She could imagine waking here every day, or feeling protected here if there were a storm. Even with nothing in it, it was cosy. The second bedroom was similar but smaller, since it shared the remaining space on that floor with the bathroom. The bathroom was in the eaves in the same way as the one in Erik’s room at the hotel. When did it change from being her room to Erik’s? She’d stayed in there far longer than he had, yet she thought with a sigh, she’d probably always think of it as his now. The bathroom had a toilet, sink and bath, and if she put a shower in, it would be no good for anyone taller than her. But that didn’t matter anymore.

The basement was large with plenty of space for everything she would want to bring from Loddefjord. It was the icing on the cake. She wanted the house so badly she felt as if she might manifest it, and with that in mind, she took the small troll out of her pocket, the one she had taken from room 308 a few weeks ago, and sat him on the top of the doorframe.

‘I’ll be back for you,’ she said. Then she went upstairs, thanked the agent, and headed home. Mats was covering for her today so that she could see the house and pick Emil up from school. She needed to talk to someone about the house, so she called him.

‘I want to buy the house in Sandviken,’ she said.

‘Isn’t this the first house you’ve seen?’

‘Yes. It’s perfect. And I think I can afford it, but it needs some work.’

‘How much work?’

‘Probably a new kitchen, a new bathroom, and some repairs to the walls inside and out. And probably a new set of outside steps to the front door. Do you think you’d be able to help me?’

‘Of course. I mean, my skills are limited, but it doesn’t sound like anything too fundamental. It might need rewiring too if that hasn’t been done since it was built, and the plumbing might need updating.’

‘Oh.’ She hadn’t thought about that, and it would all be additional cost.

‘Knut knows a lot of tradespeople who are going to want work on the next phase of the island. I’m sure he can help you find the right people. If you think this is the right house, you should go for it. We’re all behind you, Ida.’

Her eyes filled with tears. ‘Okay. I’m going to buy it. Thanks Mats.’

He chuckled. ‘I wish it was this easy for me and Lotta to buy a house.’

‘It’s not mine yet.’

‘I have a good feeling about this.’

‘Me too.’

Back at home, she called the agent and registered her intention to bid. They advised her of three other bids on the house, and thankfully, they were all lower than what she had been prepared to pay. She made a bid slightly higher than the current highest one and crossed her fingers. Then she spent the rest of the afternoon gathering the evidence from her bank of her ability to finance the sale and sent that to the agent before they closed. Now she just had to hope that no one outbid her before the bidding closed tomorrow.

It felt amazing, and she was on a high for the rest of the day. She picked Emil up from school, and they went into Bergen and took the train up to Fløyen. And it didn’t break her heart to think that the last time she came here was with Erik. Emil put his feet on the footprints at the top, on the kissing point, and it made her smile because that was a great memory, and also Emil had no idea what a kissing point meant. He just hugged his aunt around her legs when she went to stand with him. After days of feeling tormented by how everything had ended with Erik, today had shown her she was going to be okay.