He stood back, grinning as he surveyed the cabin. It was exactly as he’d imagined in his head, and he couldn’t wait to show Lotta. He reached into his backpack and took out a small troll figure, one that Ida had rescued from the farmhouse, and placed it on top of the doorframe. To Mats, it represented the first part of the island to be finished.
Lotta arrived back in Oslo on Tuesday the following week and stayed at Mats’ place as they’d planned. Her project seemed to be on track and she was out for most of the day having meetings with various people before they met in the evenings for dinner, or just to hang out at the apartment.
By the time he left work on Friday, he felt as if he’d been waiting forever for this moment to arrive. Finally, he was going to take Lotta to the island. The weather was on their side, so he was hoping the flight would run on time and that they could land in Bergen and still make it over to the island that evening. It would be dark when they got there, but he hoped Lotta wouldn’t mind that. He was desperate to spend the entire weekend on the island rather than just heading over for one day and night.
‘We’ll say hello and then head out,’ Mats said as they stood at the front door of the house in Loddefjord later that evening.
‘It’s a beautiful house, Mats.’ Lotta was excited about the weekend and perhaps less invested than he was about leaving here as soon as they could.
‘Hei!’ He called out as they walked into the hall.
‘Hei!’
They left their bags in the hallway and Lotta followed him through to the kitchen where Ida was seasoning a pan of something that smelled delicious, making his stomach rumble. He’d been so focussed on getting here, getting to the island, that he hadn’t factored in what they would eat tonight.
‘You must be Lotta,’ Ida said, smiling and coming over to them. She hugged Lotta which was quite out of character for Ida since they’d never met before. ‘I’ve heard all about you from Ingrid.’
It was a good sign if Ida had warmed to Lotta based on Ingrid’s report, and Mats relaxed a little.
‘It’s lovely to meet you,’ Lotta said. ‘Whatever you’re cooking smells delicious.’
‘I don’t know if we’ve got time to eat,’ said Mats.
Both of the women looked at him.
‘You’re seriously going over to the island now? In the dark?’ Ida said, in Norwegian.
‘We could go in the morning,’ Lotta said, her eyes pleading with him.
He could understand her reservation about going across the fjord in the dark. She wasn’t used to it like he was.
‘You speak Norwegian?’ Ida said to Lotta.
‘I understand it more than speak it,’ Lotta said. ‘My father’s half Norwegian.’
‘I’m sorry. I was trying to tell Mats he’s an idiot without you knowing.’
Lotta laughed and then so did Ida. ‘Is there anything I can do to help?’
Ida pointed to the cutlery drawer and asked her to set the table. ‘If you’re staying to eat.’ She raised an eyebrow at Mats.
Mats shrugged. ‘I guess we are,’ he said, and Ida and Lotta looked at each other and laughed again.
Mats couldn’t remember the last time his sister had laughed like that, and suddenly it didn’t seem like the worst idea in the world to stay the night, even if it felt like the two of them were ganging up on him.
‘Mats has never brought a girlfriend home before,’ said Ida once she’d dished up and they were sitting around the table.
He groaned but smiled at his sister because he could see she was enjoying herself. Perhaps he’d let it be at his expense for now.
‘That’s not true. Maria used to be here all the time.’
‘You were fourteen! It doesn’t count.’
‘In that case, none of us have brought anyone home except for Fredrik,’ Mats said.
‘Sad but true,’ said Ida.
‘You’re not seeing anyone at the moment?’ Lotta asked her.
