“Brilliant,” Christer said. “Can you grab this one for me?”
They moved the tables around and gave them different numbers, and Emelie put the numbers into her Excel-file in order to split up the salesmen in a good way, both inside in the hall and outside in the yard. Christer gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder.
“I’m so impressed with how you are handling this, Emelie. Last time around, the salespeople were standing wherever they wanted to, but this way will make it much more interesting for the visitors since there will always be something new to look at. Come on, let’s sit down, I have something I want to discuss with you.”
Christer sounded serious, and he pointed her to one of the tables. Emelie sat down, put her laptop away and looked at him, feeling concerned.
“But what’s the matter? You sound so serious, did anything happen?”
Christer smiled towards her.
“No, nothing except for the fact that I have had time to think during these past weeks in bed. I’m a bit over sixty and the accident has made me understand that I’m not invincible. I was thinking about retiring full-time next year and…”
He looked down on his hands and suddenly looked uncomfortable.
“Taking care of the community centre isn’t a full-time commitment and it doesn’t pay very well, but I still want to ask if you could be interested in taking over after me? We’ll have to check in with the municipality too, but there shouldn’t be any problems, they’ve wanted us to use the house more than we do for a while now, and you have shown that you are the right person for the job.”
Emelie looked around the big hall. There were dark wooden beams on the ceiling made of fir, and the wood continued on half the walls with a flower-patterned wallpaper above. In her mind, she immediately started making plans for how to renovate and restore the old house back to its former glory. And what the house could be used for. Line dancing - that was a given - the pensioner’s association, kindergarten for the few families with small kids living here, after school activities for teenagers, a gallery, cinema and perhaps a small theatre.
“Yes, what do you say? You absolutely don’t have to make up your mind right now, I just wanted to ask, so you have time to give it some thought.”
Emelie put her hand over Christer’s, beaming at him.
“I can only say thank you for showing such trust in me! This place is your gem, and you want me to take care over it. I feel honoured, but I can’t give you an answer right now. I don’t know yet how long me and the girls will be staying here, but can we discuss it again after the market?”
He nodded.
“I’ve been thinking about making an exhibition about the history of the island for a long time. I would love to do that if I had more time on my hands,” Christer said.
“It sounds like a great idea, I heard something about a prisoner from Carlsten fortress being the first inhabitant of the island?”
Christer looked pleased and started to tell her the story.
“Yes, his name was John. He lived in Marstrand and stole food because he was hungry, and then they put him with the real criminals on Carlsten fortress. He soon got released and made it to Sardinön along with his wife, brother and sister-in-law, and they wanted to start a new life,” he said.
“And then they named the island Lilla Carlsten?”
“Yes, to set a warning example for himself, a sort of a reminder to never do anything illegal again, but that isn’t the whole story…”
Emelie looked at her watch and quickly got up.
“You’ll have to tell me the rest some other time, I’m afraid I need to get back,” she told Christer.
On the way back home, the ideas were spinning in Emelie’s head. When she had got some way down the road, she turned around, looking at the community centre in the distance and smiling. Could that place become hers to take care of and develop? It would be a dream come true, she was only keeping her fingers crossed that the municipality would be prepared to put some money into renovations and PR. She was deep into her own thoughts and hardly noticed that she was already by the shop when Linn called for her.
“Mum!”
She turned around and smiled at her daughter who was just leaving the store.
“You look happy, did anything good happen?”
Emelie hadn’t planned on saying anything, but now she couldn’t help but share Christer’s suggestion and her own daydreams with Linn.
“But mum, that’s amazing! Then we can stay here and maybe I can start a café at the community centre? Or perhaps you aren’t allowed to give roles to your own kids, being a chairman and everything?”
She gave Emilie a nudge in the side.
“If you don’t give roles to your family and friends in a small place like this, there are no people left to give roles to,” Emilie laughed. But hey, let’s keep this to ourselves for a while, Christer and I decided to discuss it again after the market.”
