Great. I’ll come by around ten.
Why had she written that? Did it seem too pushy?
Oh well, at least he knew the book wouldn’t be sitting outside his office all day.
And still she found herself standing at the door of the office with her heart pounding the following day. She picked up the shiny green paper bag on the ground. Maybe he would appear?
She waited a few minutes until the whole thing felt seriously pathetic.He isn’t here. Slowly she wandered down the stairs and out into the spring sunshine without having seen any sign of Didrik.
She set off for home, telling herself yet again that what had happened was just a one-time event, prompted by the seductive atmosphere of Paris, too much wine ... and their mutual attraction, of course. She had to admit that Didrik Holgersson going through a crisis was one of the sexiest things she had ever experienced.
She’d had sex with a hot guy; it was a one-night stand. It was no more complicated than that. She just had to forget that he was also kind, understanding, interested in her as a person, and had a passion for history that made her love talking to him.
When she got home, an email from Elnaz was waiting for her. Bente had written asking for more details about the change of angle Elnaz was suggesting, as well as updating her on the research they had done so far.
Had a meeting with TV24 and just wanted to keep you both in the loop. Because we still don’t have any information about the bottle, they don’t think the story is strong enough.
Bente felt a surge of panic. She had to come up with something.
Her mother and sister were going to visit Lydia and Uno the following week; Uno ran the infrastructure for Hanna’s company remotely, and they needed to update the platform; plus changes of environment apparently did wonders for Hanna’s technical creativity. Mom was taking the opportunity to go with her so she could gossip and hang out with Lydia.
An excellent chance for Bente to invite everyone over. Show some initiative.
If she was going to realize her vision, she had to take control of the discussion surrounding the show. She had toownit. The whole thing was slipping out of her grasp, and she had to grab it back. If she plied Don with delicious food and fine wines, maybe she would be able to convince both him and Elnaz that her format was the right way to go, assure them that they would be able to track down more information.
That very evening she sent out an invitation—short notice, but everyone said yes.
Including Didrik, albeit with a briefCool! I’ll be there.
On the day of the dinner, she went shopping, brought up some wines she selected from the storage unit in the cellar, and got back to theapartment with plenty of time to spare. She put down the large shopping bags and the rucksack containing the wine and unlocked the door. As she opened it, she heard voices. Her heart sank. Hadn’t they left yet? Had she misunderstood?
Hanna wandered into the hallway carrying her laptop, on her way to her enormous home office located next to the living room.
“What are you doing here?” Bente asked, dropping all her bags on the floor.
“Excuse me, I live here,” Hanna said without looking up.
“But I thought you were going away?”
“Do I have to explain why I’m in my own home at a particular time?” Hanna glanced at her from beneath her dark bangs.
“Of course not, it’s just that I ...”
At that moment her mother appeared in the hallway and started rummaging through the bags. She found the packet of chips and tore it open.
Goodbye to snacks with the predinner drinks.
Bente sighed. “I’ve invited people over for dinner.”
“How lovely! We can come too.” Mom grabbed a handful of chips and stuffed them into her mouth. “Uno has a broken heart. Mirja has left him, so we all thought it would be better if he came to the city.”
“Bente, is that you?” Aunt Lydia’s voice came from the bathroom, and the door flew open. “Darling Bente!” Lydia emerged in a cloud of her signature perfume, Shalimar by Guerlain. She flung her arms wide and embraced Bente.
Bente returned the hug. The scent would cling to her clothes, it always did when she encountered Lydia. She liked it; it felt as if something of her aunt lingered after they had said goodbye. Bente was usually pleased to see Lydia—but not today.
Uno joined them, also carrying a laptop. “Hi, Bente,” he said listlessly. He gave her a quick hug and then went into the kitchen. Bente took off her trench coat, and Lydia helped her with the bags. Uno was making himself a coffee.
“Can’t you eat out?” Bente looked pleadingly at her mother, then Lydia. “Didrik and the producers are coming here.” Instantly she knew she’d made a big mistake.
