‘No,’ he said, batting away her comment. ‘Like I said, I hardly know her. We’ve spent less than a couple of hours together.’
‘Some people fall in love at first sight,’ she said. ‘Look at Anders and Becca. The first time he asked her to come here, they’d known each other a lot less than two hours.’
‘I think that’s unusual.’ He didn’t want to comment on his friend’s relationship, but he didn’t think it had been love at first sight. That was something people said, but it wasn’t real.
Anders and Becca arrived just as Ida was taking the fresh, crusty bread she’d baked out of the oven.
‘Something smells delicious!’ Anders said, hugging Ida once she’d put the bread down, and then Mats.
‘Thank you. It’s ready. Mats, pour the wine.’
He hugged Becca, then fetched two more glasses from the cupboard, taking them over to the dining table with a fresh bottle of wine. Ida followed him with bowls of steaming chilli.
‘How’s the project?’ Anders asked him.
‘It’s coming along slowly. It feels too slow.’
Anders nodded. ‘I think until you can get a building crew onto the island it’ll feel like that. But everything you do now ispreparation for that and should help it all to go more smoothly in the end.’
‘I’m hopeful the better weather is on the way, so it shouldn’t be too long before we can start. I have a couple of guys over there clearing the farmhouse and the cabins at the moment.’
‘What’s going to happen to all that stuff?’ Ida asked. They all knew she was thinking about the hundreds of troll figurines that their grandmother had collected and had been on display in the dining room of the farmhouse. For some reason she’d taken a liking to them and had brought several back with her last time she’d visited.
‘We’ll put it in the storage unit until we can sort through it properly. I don’t want to throw anything out accidentally that we’d like to keep for the family.’
‘I can sort all of that out, go through it gradually,’ said Ida.
‘Really?’ Mats had thought it was a job that would fall to him and would be another thing on his list that he would have a hard time getting round to. ‘That would be amazing. Thank you.’
‘I could give you a hand when we’re here,’ Becca said. ‘There might be some gems in amongst all of that. Things we can introduce into the design to link the hotel to your family. Telling stories like that can bring a place to life, give it a depth that resonates with people.’
‘Like the trolls,’ Mats said, his face a picture of innocence.
‘Oh, shut up,’ Ida said, throwing a chunk of bread at her brother and laughing. ‘There is nothing wrong with rescuing a few trolls.’
Even Becca was giggling.
‘Are we all heading over there tomorrow?’ Anders asked.
‘Count me out,’ said Ida. ‘I’ve got better things to do on a Saturday. I’ll come when there’s actually something to see.’
‘Knut is coming over to go through the quantity surveyor’s report and he’s bringing one of the building contractors whotendered for the work. It’s a local firm, so they’ve come in quite reasonably priced,’ said Mats.
‘Keeps the costs down if they all live around here, and I expect they’re genuinely interested in being part of something like this.’
The enormity of the project always hit him harder when he was here. It was easy to dream about it when he was in Oslo, but back in Bergen reality hit, especially so now that other people were involved. Not Anders so much; he was a friend, but bringing Knut on board had been a big step towards it switching from a plan to actually bringing it to life. And finding a builder felt like another landmark.
‘It’s starting to feel scary,’ Mats said, looking at Ida and his friends.
‘But that’s what tells you it’s one of the greatest things you’ll ever do,’ said Anders. ‘Something that changes your life is always scary and difficult. Most of the time it’s something you can’t control, like losing someone. But when it’s in your hands and you could be the one to end it, to end those feelings of being out of control, it’s harder to keep going. But if you do, Mats, getting to the end will feel like the best thing in the world.’
8
Mats took his morning coffee outside onto the small terrace that ran across the back of the house and sat on one of the wooden chairs. It was a little damp, but he needed to change out of his sweatpants before he left the house, so it didn’t bother him. Mist was hanging over the fjord in places, but it was a still day with only a hint of drizzle in the air.
He was still thinking about what Anders said about things that change your life. He was right, and his words meant a lot to Mats. They’d both lost their parents within years of each other and that was life-changing in a way that made you feel as if you were on a rollercoaster with a desperate need to get off. The way he felt about the enormity of his project was similar, but the difference was that he wanted it to change his life. Yes, he’d spent the past few years thinking about leaving his job, leaving Oslo, but this was the only plan he’d actually come up with, and he had no way of knowing if it was going to work out. It was a leap of faith.
But he knew the moment he stepped onto the island later on, he’d feel so sure it was the right thing, that would be just as overwhelming. Overwhelming enough to drown out the worry that his father wouldn’t understand.
