‘Do you want to fish, Emil?’ Mats called to his nephew.
The little boy nodded vigorously and came over to help carry the equipment. Mats handed him a rod, and he followed Mats to the wooden deck at the water’s edge.
They’d obviously fished together before. The two brothers and Emil prepared the rods quietly and methodically, as if the calm they needed to fish successfully had washed over all three of them. Emil let Mats help him with his rod while Fredrik tossed his line into the water. Watching the three of them together, she could see how Mats was just as much a part of Emil’s life as his father was, a support system for Fredrik. She suspected Ida was the most involved with them since she was here, but maybe that was part of why Mats wanted to be closer to Bergen.
While they fished, Lotta heated some water on the fire and made mugs of hot chocolate for them all. She carried them over to the deck, set one down next to Fredrik, whispered to Emil to let his cool for a few minutes, then sat down next to Mats, who was crouched behind Emil ready to lend a hand if he got a bite.
‘Thank you,’ he said, taking his mug from her. ‘You don’t mind that they stayed?’ He said it in a low voice so his nephew wouldn’t hear.
Lotta shook her head. ‘No. I’ve had the best time. It’s been great to meet more of your family.’
‘We’ll have to leave in a couple of hours.’ His eyes were sorrowful.
‘We can come back some other time.’
‘I can’t wait.’
Emil shattered the peace, shouting in excitement when Fredrik caught a fish. It wasn’t huge, around thirty centimetres long, but it signalled the end of the fishing. Fredrik gutted the fish while Emil watched. Then they found a stick that had a fork in it and balanced the fish on top to cook over the fire.
Mats and Lotta collected the fishing equipment and took it back to the cabin to stow away.
‘Emil’s a great kid,’ Lotta said.
‘He is. Not when he’s running around my building site like a maniac,’ he laughed, ‘But I love fishing with him, showing him all the stuff we used to do as kids.’
‘Do you want children?’ After seeing him with Emil, she was pretty sure of the answer.
He nodded. ‘You?’
She nodded, and they both grinned at each other.
‘Leaving Oslo was supposed to help with that,’ Mats said. ‘You know, move to Bergen to be around my family, maybe meet someone, start a family.’ He wrapped his arms around her waist. ‘And then I met an English woman and my plans were blown out of the water.’
‘Half Norwegian,’ she said. ‘And your plans aren’t blown out of the water, they’re just taking a detour.’
‘Are you on the detour with me?’
That was the million dollar question and in her heart she knew what she wanted the answer to be.
18
Being back in Oslo after their weekend away felt especially brutal and Mats was struggling to focus on his work. It felt like something had shifted. It was tempting to think that the time had come to tender his resignation, but he knew it was far too soon. With things progressing on the island more quickly than he’d originally planned, it was only a matter of time before he’d need to be there more often. He was enjoying being there so much, it made these jolts back into his Oslo life ever more difficult. But today was not the day. He was nowhere near the point where he could afford to leave his job yet. The ready cash he had from his salary was becoming more important now that he’d depleted his savings. His practical side knew it was a knee-jerk reaction to the weekend. He was craving the island. Lotta. The solitude.
He sighed and got up to make himself a coffee.
Hanne looked up and smiled at him. ‘Another coffee? Was it a late night?’
‘I’m not feeling it today,’ he said.
‘Good weekend with Lotta?’
He hadn’t really told Hanne about Lotta but she’d booked his flights so she knew he’d taken Lotta to Bergen with him.
‘Great weekend. I think that’s the trouble.’ He’d been honest with Hanne about his plans to leave. She wouldn’t lose her job if he left the bank; they both knew that, but she’d worked with him for years and he didn’t want her to be the last to know.
‘Maybe it’s time?’ she said, reading his mind.
‘Wouldn’t that be nice?’ he said with a wry smile. ‘It’s too soon. I need the money, Hanne, so perhaps not today.’
