Tuula wore a thin spring dress, pale gray with narrow blue stripes, which she had bought with her first paycheck. She was pleased withthe dress and the jacket she had borrowed from Aino since she couldn’t afford a spring coat just yet. With her raise, she would soon be in a position to expand her spring wardrobe—soon she was dreaming of the clothing she would be able to buy.
Then she thought back to what had happened earlier. What on earth had come over her? She had kissed her boss. The owner’s son! It was crazy. But he had kissed her first, and invited her to the soccer match. Lydia had seen the whole thing ... But Lydia was one of the kindest people she had ever met. She wouldn’t make life difficult for them.
The match had already begun. Twenty or so spectators were sitting on the narrow wooden benches, shouting encouragement and clapping. Tuula and the children sat at the far end at the back. No one seemed to notice them. She wondered if things would change now that the war was over. There had been so much tension over the past few years. Perhaps attitudes toward the refugees would change. She could only hope.
Her heart sank when she saw one of Nils’s teammates. It was the man who had cycled past them on the very first day. She had seen him in the village several times since then, and he had always hissed at her:fucking Finnish bitch. He glanced up at them, and she turned her head away, not wanting to provoke a reaction.
A moment later Nils spotted them. His face lit up and he waved, and then he raced across the pitch and fired a shot at the goal, but missed.
“Nooo!” Matias howled. Tuula smiled and put her arm around his shoulders.
Nils came over to them at halftime. As usual Ritva suddenly became shy, shuffling closer to her mother and saying hello to Nils with her head down, while Matias immediately began chattering about the game in broken Swedish.
“So you like soccer?” Nils asked.
Matias nodded eagerly.
“Would you like to come down to kick the ball?”
Matias leaped to his feet and followed Nils onto the field.
The two of them passed the ball back and forth, and Nils let Matias dribble past him and try to score. When the referee blew his whistle, indicating that the second half was about to begin, Matias hurried back to Tuula. He was panting and his face was red from the exertion, but his eyes were shining and he was beaming from ear to ear.
The match ended in a tie, but both teams acted as if they had won. Today everyone felt as if they had won, and maybe they had—the end of the war was a victory for them all.
Matias ran down onto the pitch again, and this time Tuula and Ritva followed him. Nils and Matias resumed their game, and some of the other team members joined in, including the man who always swore at Tuula. He passed the ball to Matias a few times, even if he wasn’t smiling and joking with him like the others were. Tuula kept a wary eye on him. She couldn’t relax, but he kept quiet.
Maybe, just maybe they could be accepted here? Maybe they could build a normal life here after all? That little spark of hope spread a warm, liberating glow through her chest.
She realized how late it was. The children needed their sleep, and she had to be up early. She stepped onto the field and waved to Matias. “Matias! We have to go now!”
The boy didn’t hear at first, so she raised her voice and called to him again. He came running over, rosy-faced and sweaty. There was a chill in the air, and when she patted his cheek, she could feel how cold he was.
Nils followed him. “Thanks for coming.”
“Thanks for inviting us.”
“Mm.”Nils swallowed hard and looked down at the ground, then looked up at Tuula again. Those sparkling brown eyes made her head spin. Or was it the scent of the hawthorn? Or the day’s joyous news? More likely it was just charismatic Nils Eklund’s presence. “I was wondering what you’re doing on Saturday evening.”
“What I’m doing on Saturday evening?”
“Yes—do you have plans?”
Tuula shook her head. “No plans. I’ll be at home with the children as usual.”
“Maybe Aino could watch them? I’d like to invite you to dinner at the Stadshotell.”
“I’d love to come,” she replied, much too quickly, before she even had time to think. The evening sun, turning the sky a warm shade of peach, the scents, the atmosphere in the air—it was all so intoxicating. And being so close to Nils, of course. His dark hair, damp after all his exertions, the smell of him. He smelled like the air around them, but stronger. And of sweat, but it wasn’t unpleasant, a mixture of salt and something that made her think of a forest at dawn. He smelled like a man.
She hadn’t been near a man since Juhani went to war. She hadn’t been near anyone except her children for such a long time. And now Nils was standing before her, making her feel as if she had drunk the neighbors’ schnapps. She wanted nothing more than to have dinner with him.
Nils smiled. “Fantastic. I’ll book a table for seven thirty. I’ll pick you up at seven fifteen.”
She nodded. “See you tomorrow.”
He laughed. “See you tomorrow—at work.” He looked at the children. “Good to meet you again.” He patted Matias on the shoulder. “Well played!”
19
