When Elnaz walked in wearing a black sparkly long-sleeved dress, Hanna whistled appreciatively before greeting Elnaz with a kiss on the lips. Bente knew they were dating, but she had no idea how serious it might be at this stage.
Elnaz came over with flowers for Bente, and gave her a hug.
“You look fabulous,” Bente said.
“Thanks—I’m going on to TV24’s summer party. You’re not coming?”
“No, I wasn’t invited.”
“Would you like to come with me? I have a plus-one—my sister was supposed to come, but she dropped out.”
“I don’t know ... Maybe I ought to be here.” Bente gestured with her arms wide. She didn’t really want to leave the celebration now, and of course she knew that Didrik would be at the party.
He had called, had left a voicemail message saying he wanted to see her and talk. He had somethingimportantto say. She hadn’t called back. Hadn’t wanted to talk. He was the one who had asked for time to think, so time to think was exactly what he was going to get.
Then she had received a text message yesterday.
I’m back in Stockholm, have been trying to call you.
She assumed that he thought she wanted to go to the party, and had found that quite hurtful. So she had ignored his text. And she had no intention of going to the party. If she saw him there, she wouldn’t be able to keep her distance, which she was determined to do.
Hanna drifted over and served Elnaz a Manhattan, which she accepted with apparent reluctance.
“I’m trying to drag your sister along to the TV24 party.” Elnaz took a cautious sip.
“Good idea—Didrik will be there, won’t he?” Hanna grinned.
“I assume so.” Elnaz looked inquiringly at Hanna.
“It’s just that Bente has been very down since she got back from Bordeaux.”
“Why? I thought the research went really well. All the material you sent was fantastic. I’ve already got a team cutting together your video clips to make a little teaser.”
“That’s not why she’s down—it’s because of Didrik.” Hanna sounded serious, but there was a mischievous glint in her eye.
“There’s something going on between the two of you, isn’t there?” Elnaz asked.
“Therewas. I don’t know ... We broke up in Bordeaux.”
“But why? You’re perfect for each other.”
“I don’t think so. He’s popular, loved by the public, he’s got a fabulous TV career. And he really wants children.”
“Okay, so he’s popular with the audience, but he’s a perfectly ordinary guy, which is what I like about him,” Elnaz said.
“I’m not . . .”
Was Elnaz right? She knew Didrik, possibly better than Bente did, and Bente was well aware that she could be a little stubborn sometimes. After all, Didrik had only said that he needed time to think.
“Look, why don’t you come to the party? It might be good to do a little networking with people in the industry.”
And Didrik,Bente thought. She would have the chance to see Didrik. She’d been avoiding him. But what if he wanted to tell her something good, something she wanted to hear? She didn’t have to start dating him again ... But if he was there, she could at least listen to what he had to say.
She smiled at Elnaz. “Okay—why not?”
Two hours later they arrived at the venue Cirkus in the Djurgården district, where they were met by velvet drapes, happy party guests, and twinkling lights. Everything seemed to shimmer—sequined dresses, spotlights, jewelry, shiny hair, and smiles fired off toward the clatter of flashing cameras. Bente searched among the faces but couldn’t see any sign of a historian in tweeds and round glasses.
She stayed close to Elnaz as they made their way to their seats for the evening’s entertainment and awards ceremony. They had a good view of the stage, and when a young guy who Bente vaguely recognized from a children’s show went up to receive the award for TV24 profile of the year, the audience’s enthusiasm seemed boundless. Drawn in by it, Bente applauded energetically. It was clear that the winner was very popular, but she had very little idea of what he’d actually done. At that moment she realized how far she had drifted from this volatile,ever-changing world. New stars had come along, others had disappeared. This was not the place for her anymore, not really.
