Chapter 8: Episodes from Stef’s Life

After Stef and Anette moved in with Helene and Mikkel and their children, there wasn’t enough space in their room for Stef’s rock collection. A few of his most beautiful rocks were displayed on a shelf, and the rest were packed away in a cardboard box. Helene and Mikkel considered throwing out the worthless rocks, but quickly realized how much they meant to Stef. When spring arrived and they could go outside, they offered to let Stef create a rock garden outside along the north gable of the house. It was shaded most of the day and quite dry, so only a few plants could grow there. Stef was enthusiastic. With Mikkel’s help, he cleared away grass and leveled the soil. On top, they laid a layer of fine gravel. Stef arranged his stones in neat rows and pressed them into the gravel. The result looked surprisingly nice.

From the beginning, Stef played with Ingegerd and Danielle a lot and got used to spending time with girls his own age. At school, he wasn’t afraid to talk to the girls in his class. They noticed that he could talk to them quite naturally without belittling them, as other boys often did. He was also interested in “girl topics.” During recess, he played soccer with the boys and skipped rope with the girls.