“I’ll take the praise.” Sigrid laughed. “No need to censor yourself for me. I own a tattoo parlor. I’ve heard sweet old ladies talk like sailors.”
“Yourself included,” Trine noted.
“Sue me.” Sigrid shrugged unapologetically.
Trine chuckled, shaking her head before looking at the metalheads. “So, how was the tour?”
“It was…” Kaj glanced at Noah, who was chewing on his avocado and egg sandwich. “Intense.”
“That’s one word for it,” Noah added, a private smile playing on his lips.
As they ate, the conversation flowed more easily than Kaj had expected. Trine asked about the band, about life on the road and the places they’d seen. Kaj was sure Noah had told her all about it while they were away; these two always had the most amazing relationship. The best of it all, though, was the lack of awkwardness and resentment. There was no mention of the years of silence, just genuine interest.
“Remember when you two used to play in your garage?” Trine laughed, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “The neighbors threatened to call the police at least once a week.”
“Mrs. Petersen,” Noah and Kaj said in unison, then exchanged surprised looks.
“That old bat,” Trine shook her head.
Kaj smiled with sadness. “Dad used to apologize and smile at her all the time, but I caught him cursing and rolling his eyes when he thought I wasn’t looking.”
“Nik was always a good diplomat,” Trine said softly.
“Yeah.” Kaj’s grip tightened on his glass, surprised by how much his father’s absence still hurt after all these years.
Noah reached under the table and squeezed Kaj’s knee. The warmth of his palm lingered even after he withdrew his hand.
“Remember the time you decided to camp in the backyard on Kaj’s thirteenth birthday?” Trine asked, clearly trying to shift to a lighter topic.
“Oh, that was a disaster!” Noah laughed.
“We made it like... three hours?” Kaj said, grinning at him.
“Not even!” Noah chuckled. “It was the middle of summer, but somehow it was freezing,” he told Sigrid. “We’d set up this pathetic little tent—”
“That tent was perfectly adequate,” Kaj protested.
“It was trash,” Noah countered. “Anyway, we had all these grandiose plans about staying up all night telling ghost stories—”
“Which Theo and you were terrified of,” Kaj interjected.
“I was not!” Noah kicked him lightly under the table. “You were the one who screamed when that branch scratched against the tent.”
“That’s not how I remember it.” Kaj narrowed his eyes on Noah. “Wanna ask Val?”
“The four of you came running back inside before midnight,” Trine said, “claiming you’d heard a bear.”
“There are no bears in Denmark,” Sigrid pointed out with a funny grin.
“That’s what I told them!” Trine exclaimed. “But they were so convinced.”
“It was probably Mrs. Petersen’s cat,” Noah admitted.
“Or her,” Kaj added. “She was creepy as fuck.”
They all laughed, and Kaj felt something tight in his chest loosen. This was nice, sitting around a table, sharing food and memories. It felt… like home.
Twenty
