Page 89 of The Secret to Belonging

bosom friend since fourth grade

provider of home away from home

keeper of secrets and dreams

she travels 48 hours and 4,000 kilometers to see you

and then tries to seduce him?

and he kisses her back??

but nothing happened, she says again

he wasn’t interested

you twist around to face her

you tried to sleep with him?!

that may be nothing in Italy

with all your priests and married men

but in Norway and California and anywhere else

people care about their friends, that’s plenty!

you feel nauseous again

lean your head against the icy window

Espen grips the steering wheel

maybe no more talking? maybe we just drive?

he pushes play on the dashboard

Barry Manilow starts singing

Where do I go from here?

you eject the cassette

you want to throw it out the window

take me home, you say

closing your eyes

i just want to go home

ÅTTE (EIGHT)

Alison catches the next train

Bjørn and Elinor know something’s happened

but their Scandinavian stoicism