Page 66 of The Secret to Belonging

you sit on the living room floor

while he cooks

look through his albums

no Broadway musicals

but plenty of great bands

Joan Jett, Genesis, Pat Benatar, Van Halen

ABBA?

you hold up Greatest Hits, Vol. 2

ja da, he says

i saw them in Stockholm

fantastic show

he puts the record on the turntable

and lowers the needle

holds out his hand

you laugh, make out and sway to Dancing Queen

until the water boils

and he runs to add pasta

you can’t believe

you are the girl in this story

Espen

Espen

Espen

you can barely remember

life before Espen

when you’re not with him

your mind can focus on nothing else

when you’re together

everything else dissolves

at school

Margrethe points out the cherries in your cheeks