“It feels familiar and strange sitting here in Astrid’s house, now that it belongs to you” Jenny said, looking around. I understand why you have put away the Christmas things, I always thought it had gone too far, but Astrid was so stubborn. We argued about it several times, and it makes me sad to think about that we were cross with each other, the last time we met. But I still think that it’s too much work for an older woman, all that dusting, and the things made it harder for her to get around the house.”
Jenny shook her head, fell silent and disappeared into her own thoughts.
“And now we are planning a new Christmas market, and then I will sell what I can of Astrid’s things,” Emelie said.
Jenny looked at her in surprise.
“Oh dear, what does Christer say about that?”
“He is in on it, he likes the idea of having a Christmas market in honour of Astrid.”
Jenny slowly nodded, smiling.
“Yes, you’re absolutely right to do so, she would have liked that, and I’m sure she would have liked you too, it’s a shame you never got to meet her.”
“I agree, and I still wonder why she collected all of these Christmas decorations. I’ve tried to ask Andreas since he was close to her, but he just gets annoyed.”
Jenny laughed.
“Oh, Andreas. He cared a lot for Astrid, and she cared for him. But I doubt that he knows the whole story behind Astrid’s love for Christmas, it’s probably something only I know. We were friends for many years, ever since we were children, even though she was a couple of years older than me.”
“Would you like to share it with me? I would love to get to know and understand the woman who gave me this incredible house and actually a whole new life for me and my daughters,” Emelie said.
Jenny smiled at her, stroking her arm.
“I sure can, but then we will have to go all the way back to the summer of 1960. The 60’s was a hopeful time on the island – as in many other places of the country. Us young folk discovered the new music, the feeling that everything was moving forwards, everyone was doing better, for us young women in particular the future was looking bright. Not that we were all ‘flower power’ and ‘peace and love’ here on the island, not exactly, but some of us left the island to experience that too.”
Jenny fell silent, smiling inwardly, as if she couldn’t help but get lost in the memories. Emelie got her attention back by softly stroking the thin, veiny hand that was resting in the old lady’s lap.
“I can imagine that you have had many adventures,” she said.
Jenny looked up at Emelie, smiling.
“Oh yes, but we’ll have to save those stories for another day. Back to Astrid. She loved dancing, baking and reading, and her dream was to become a schoolteacher or a baker. She met Karl-Axel at one of the dances on the pier. His family had a farm on the other side of the island, and he was so handsome! She was so infatuated. Sometimes I got tired of her going on and on about Karl-Axel. I actually warned her, because there was a rumour that he was a bit of a ladies’ man, but the truth is that he seemed very much in love with Astrid too. It was a pleasure seeing the two of them on the dance floor. Karl-Axel wasn’t very tall, but well-built and strong and Astrid was petite and graceful with straw blonde hair in a long, thick braid or a ponytail.” Jenny stretched for her glass, taking a sip of the cordial.
“August came and Astrid went back to Gothenburg to continue her training to be a schoolteacher. In the beginning she would come back to the island every weekend to be with Karl-Axel, but when it got colder, the ferry stopped running very often and then she stayed in town. Anyways, she managed to get home over the Christmas holidays, and she was alone in the house. Both her parents had died in a fishing accident several years earlier. Karl-Axel’s family were out on the farm, but Astrid didn’t feel like celebrating with them, so the two of them decided to celebrate here. Astrid was so happy, she had decorated the whole house, pickled herring, baked bread and cookies, rolled meatballs, boiled cabbage, chilled the schnapps and even prepared a small ham.”
Jenny shook her head.
“When they had taken care of the dishes and exchanged Christmas gifts there was a knock on the door. Astrid opened and there was Berit, the daughter of the owner of the herring factory.”
Jenny nodded towards Emelie.
“You see, there used to be a small herring factory on the island back then. Berit looked devastated and Astrid invited her in. Then I don’t know exactly what happened, Astrid never wanted to talk about it. Anyways, it turned out that Karl-Axel had had an affair with Berit during the autumn when Astrid had been in Gothenburg, and now Berit was pregnant. Astrid ended up throwing them both out in the winter cold, then walked back into the kitchen and saw the Christmas gifts that they had just given each other. She picked them up, and in her despair, she threw them after Karl-Axel, who picked them up and followed Berit down the driveway. Astrid went back to Gothenburg to continue her education. When she returned the following summer, she was different, it was like a shadow was following her. She was more withdrawn. When she got back to her house after having been gone for six months, it was still decorated for Christmas. She dropped into her sofa, just crying uncontrollably. When she had finished crying, she concluded that that Christmas Eve had been the happiest day in her life, and she decided to keep the Christmas decorations up forever as a reminder of that happiness. She was convinced that Karl-Axel was her one true love and that she would never meet anyone else, and that’s exactly what has happened.”
Jenny shrugged her shoulders in defeat and Emelie took her hand.
“Goodness, what a beautiful and sad story. But what happened to Karl-Axel and Berit and the baby?”
Jenny shifted position, frowning a bit as she moved her foot.
“They got married and had three children and I think they were rather happy. But Karl-Axel would always wear the sweater that Astrid had knitted for him, and when that one was worn out, he made his sister knit him another one. They became rather famous here on the island, and his sister, Anna-Karin, would sell her special Sardinö-sweaters at the Christmas market. They’re probably impossible to get ahold of these days”, she said, staring into nothing for a while until she suddenly jumped and looked back at Emelie.
“Right, and Karl-Axel and Berit’s son is Andreas’ father, making Karl-Axel his grandfather. As the years passed, Karl-Axel and Astrid became good friends again, and Karl-Axel would often bring Andreas and Malin over. That’s how Astrid and Andreas came to grow so fond of each other.”
“But then it all makes sense! Andreas mentioned when I moved in, that Astrid had been like a grandmother to him, and in a sense, that’s just what she was! By the way, those sweaters, we should get some of those for the Christmas market, do you think there might be some pictures of them, or a knitting pattern?”
“You could ask Andreas about it, it was his dad’s aunt who started knitting them.” Jenny twisted and turned in the sofa.
