‘Then why isn’t he here?’ Bjorn asked.
‘He’s too upset. He’s worried he’ll say the wrong thing, so I offered to come in the first instance and find out what’s going on.’
‘We haven’t seen you in nearly two years, Henrik,’ Bjorn said. ‘Or your father.’
‘Yeah, I know,’ Henrik said, jiggling his leg. ‘I should have been to visit sooner. The weeks and months just keep disappearing. Time flies by somehow, we’re all busy with the retreat – it takes up every hour of the day.’
‘And yet there doesn’t seem to be any money coming in.’
‘There must be some?’ Henrik said, stroking his beard. ‘I leave the finances toPappa, but I know the upkeep is expensive. Jonas uses good quality ingredients for the food. And there’s the maintenance and bills; water, fuel, washing, it all adds up.’
‘It does. And the profits each month do not add up to very much at all.’
Henrik nodded. ‘I’ve toldPappawe need to be more money-minded. Is that why you’re considering selling?’
‘Of course! All our wealth is tied up in that land and we are sitting here growing old in the cold.’
‘Why haven’t you spoken to us about it before now?’
‘We never hear from you. Tore shut down when your mother died and we’ve only seen him twice, maybe three times, since the funeral. We’ve lost touch. I’m sorry for the situation, Henny, but Nina isn’t well, and we must look after ourselves before we look after you.’
‘Absolutely, you must. I totally understand, honestly I do. But I’m still not completely clear on what’s been agreed. Mark toldme and Jonas one version of events, but I want to hear it from you. I don’t trust him.’
Nina gave me a silent smile before stuffing a wedge of cake in her mouth and Bjorn stirred a sugar into his coffee. ‘It’s as I said to your father. There is an offer to buy the land that Firefly Forest is built on. Not just the retreat patch but the whole forest area. And it is serious and sizeable, and we have to consider it. Don’t we, Nina?’
She nodded into her coffee.
Henrik pushed, gently. ‘It’s not yet decided then?’
‘Ninety per cent decided, yes.’
‘And the other ten per cent?’ Nina took a large slurp of her coffee instead of answering. ‘TanteNina? Can’t we talk things through at least? We can take a loan out on the land if it’s cash you need, rather than getting third parties involved. Especially property developers.’
Nina cleared her throat to speak. ‘Henrik, my darling, Bjorn and I are old.’
‘What? No, you’re not.’
She smiled. ‘Yes. Yes, we are. We are the same age as your father, who I’m sorry to tell you is also now officially old, although he’d never admit it. But unlike Tore, we don’t have any children. We only have each other. Our cabin is falling to pieces, and the car is on its last legs. We are surviving week to week on our pensions, but we don’t have any money.’
‘And can’t work our way out of it,’ Bjorn said, pointing to his stick.
Henrik looked crestfallen. ‘I had no idea you were struggling like this.’
Nina put a hand on his arm. ‘It isn’t for you to worry about. We’ve had our life and enjoyed it, and it’s on to the next generation now.’
‘Except we don’t have a next generation,’ Bjorn said. ‘Nobody cares about us. So, if there’s a chance we can access our family money before we go, then I think we should.’
‘What do you mean nobody cares? They do! I care about you.’
Nina’s smile stayed fixed as she nodded. ‘And we care about you.’
It felt like a good moment to chip in and change the tone. ‘Can I ask a question from an information-gathering perspective?’
‘You can ask…’ Bjorn picked up his pipe and tapped it on the table to loosen the tobacco.
‘Do you have a copy of the original covenant between your families to show what was agreed?’
He chuckled. ‘Now that’s the kind of information-gathering both parties need to do.’
