“You love working with wine, that’s your passion. You like making your YouTube videos—so why do you have to be on TV? People don’t have to see that you’re successful in order for you to be successful.”
“Thank you for your advice, but if I want to enjoy words of wisdom with my morning coffee, I can order an embroidered wall hanging online.” Bente went into the bathroom and tried to shake off the aftertaste of the conversation. Why couldn’t Hanna simply be happy for her? She knew that her sister’s misgivings came from a place of love, but this was something Bentewanted, and she was going to be fine. She had spent three years recovering, and she was mentally ready to work in TV again.
She chose her softest jeans and T-shirt, with a lovely thin cashmere sweater. She had a long train journey ahead, with transfers in Copenhagen and Hamburg.
She grabbed her wheeled suitcase and looped her big leather bag over her shoulder. Pushed her sunglasses up onto the top of her head, pulled on her leather jacket, trench coat, sneakers. She took a scarf from the hallstand at the last minute and left the apartment without speaking to Hanna again.
She ran downstairs to the waiting cab. Hanna’s words still lingered, but Bente was convinced that she was wrong. It really would be different this time. Besides, Bente wasn’t looking for recognition.
She just wanted to work with someone she thought was fun.
Springtime in Paris could be treacherous, but in Stockholm that treachery was guaranteed. A strong wind was blowing down the street outside the station, and she hurried inside, where she was met by the aromas of coffee, freshly baked bread, and fried food, as all the restaurants that had opened over the past few years prepared for lunch. She made her way through the crowds of travelers to the platform where she and the others had arranged to meet. The place was unusually busy for an ordinary Wednesday morning.
Elnaz, who was coming along to project-manage their research, was already there, tapping away on her phone. Once it was clear that Didrik was on board with the project, the production company had decided to pay for the trip.
Elnaz looked up. “This is going to be so much fun!” She placed a hand on Bente’s shoulder. “I have to say that this show—the whole concept, in fact—is incredibly exciting. There’s no mistaking your enthusiasm and commitment. And the idea of filming with your camera during the research phase is genius.”
Bente smiled. “Good to hear.”
The burning smell of the trains’ brakes mingled with the unpleasant odor of a nearby trash can, but there was also a fresh breeze blowingin off Riddarfjärden, the easternmost bay of Stockholm’s Lake Mälaren, just visible from the platform (if you peered into the distance).
Tomorrow she would be in France. There was something surreal about the whole thing. As soon as they were settled on the train, she would leave Hanna’s tedious words and the fiasco at the wine bar behind her. She would be on her way. She was going to work. Soon, soon she would be in Paris.
Elnaz glanced down at her large wristwatch. “Where’s Didrik?”
The train would be arriving at the platform in a few minutes.
“Did he say he might be late?” Bente asked.
Elnaz shook her head. “I haven’t heard anything.”
They both checked their emails and text messages, but there was nothing.
The minutes passed with no sign of Didrik. Surely he ought to contact them if he was running late?
The train pulled in and stopped with a screech and a hiss.
“He’ll be here, don’t worry. He’s punctuality personified,” Elnaz said calmly.
If he was going to make it, he had to come now.
The doors opened and they found their carriage, stowed their suitcases in the luggage rack, and sat down.
Bente settled down and peered out of the window as Elnaz focused on her phone. Wasn’t she nervous? The train was due to depart in mere minutes.
Soon Elnaz was also peering out of the window, as if she had just realized that maybe she ought to be worried. “Where the hell is he? This isn’t like him at all, he’s usually so ...”
“Reliable and easy to work with, I know,” Bente said wearily. In spite of Didrik’s much-lauded qualities as a colleague, Bente was sitting here with a laptop stuffed with information, a file of printed-out documents, and a list of things they needed to go through during the train journey, and the fantastic Didrik Holgersson couldn’t even bebothered to show up. Did he have any idea what a difficult position he was putting her in?
She clamped her jaws together. Hard. “I’ll call him,” she said. The signal rang out, but then his voicemail kicked in. She sighed, stood up, and angled her head so that she could see along the platform.Please, Didrik, don’t drop out now.
“This train is ready to depart,” a voice informed them over the loudspeakers.
Shit shit shit.
She had been so close, so close to producing and filming her own show. Was Didrik Holgersson about to wreck the whole thing?
She looked at Elnaz.
