Chapter 37: Journey's End, Part II

July 1980, Göteborg/Hovås, Sweden

When I arrived home, the house was empty because everyone was at the station meeting Peter’s train. I went to my room and wrote in my journal. I was still very conflicted about what I’d done with Sofia and wasn’t sure that I’d made the right decision for me. I had certainly done the right thing for her, and maybe that was the proper way to judge my actions.

About an hour later, I heard the front door open and went upstairs to meet Peter Jonsson for the first time. He was about 180cm tall, with blonde hair and blue eyes, and looked to be in very good shape. We shook hands, and he greeted me in a California surfer accent. I started laughing out loud and answered him in my best Göteborska, which caused him to laugh as well.

Eva and Suzana put together a quick meal — a salad, ham, and potatoes and we all sat down to eat. There was a bit of good-natured ribbing from Peter when I sat in his chair next to Suzana. I got up, got a spare chair from the other room and put it in the spot that Anders’ mom had used between him and Pernilla. Suzana and I exchanged a few glances, and I got the idea she was considering what I had told her. I wasn’t sure she had the courage to do it, and it was something I would probably never know.

After dinner, we sat in the living room and drank beer or wine and listened to Peter’s stories about his time in California. He’d been in the San Fernando Valley and had spent a lot of time at the beach as well. I got the idea that he had been very popular with the girls and I wasn’t surprised by that in the least. He suggested to Anders that we go sailing on Monday, and Anders quickly agreed.

At bedtime, Suzana stopped by my room for a quick chat.

“You didn’t come home last night!” she teased.

“Your powers of observation amaze me!” I chuckled.

“You were with Sofia, weren’t you?”

“Yes. I stayed at her house last night.”

Suzana laughed. “I knew she’d get you. I would have bet money on it!”

“You lost your bets with me!”

“I’d say I won!” she giggled.

We touched lips to say goodnight, and I quickly fell asleep.

Monday morning I was up early but didn’t go running because we were leaving for the harbor around 6:45am. I grabbed a quick breakfast and dressed for the day. We drove down to the harbor and quickly prepared the boat. I was glad we had the chance to do this because it was unlikely I’d have any opportunity to do this back home. Patrick, Peter, and I took turns manning the helm and working the sails. We anchored for lunch near a small island in the archipelago and waded ashore to eat.

“I see I was right!” Suzana laughed.

“About what?”

“The claw marks on your back had to be from Sofia! They sure aren’t from me! And it must have been out of this world if she clawed you like that!” she whispered.

I had completely forgotten! I quickly put my shirt back on, hoping nobody else had noticed!

“You know just how awesome it can be, Suzana!” I whispered back. “Or perhaps it could be even better!”

She giggled in response, and I wondered what she was thinking.

After lunch we sailed out into the Kattegat, where we could sail at speed without worrying about small islands. Around 4:00pm we headed back to the harbor and after we secured the boat, we headed home for dinner. After dinner, we watched TV until bedtime. I got into bed and realized that I was down to a single day left in Hovås. I slept fitfully, remembering the year that had passed and wondering about home.

I woke up nearly as tired as when I had gone to bed. I forced myself out of bed and went out to do my morning run. I came back, showered and ate breakfast with Patrick and Pernilla. When I finished breakfast, I went downstairs and turned on the sauna. I changed into my bathing suit and went in and sat down, waiting for the rocks to warm up. A few minutes later they had, and I ladled extra water onto them, in the hopes the steam would improve my mood and how I felt.

About five minutes later, the door opened and Suzana came in.

“What is it with you and the extra steam? I know you weren’t drinking last night!”

“No, but I didn’t sleep well.”

“Why?”

“Thinking about the last year and what it will be like at home. It’s been such a good year and even though I want to see my friends and my sister, I dread seeing my mom.”

“Maybe she’s changed. You have, right?”

“Yes, I have. That’s part of the problem, in fact. It’ll make things harder because I’ve had a whole year of running my own life. Now I have to go back to a potential nightmare with my mom.”

“I think it’ll work out,” Suzana said. “Just do what you know is right. That’s served you pretty well so far.”

“Thanks. I’m going to miss you.”

“Didn’t we say this already?” she giggled.

“Yes, we did. But it’s still true.”

“I know.”

I took her hand in mine.

“And Suzana?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t be afraid. I’m not.”

“OK,” she said softly, and squeezed my hand.

We held hands for the next fifteen minutes until it was time to jump in the pool. We didn’t let go of each other’s hands as we walked out of the sauna and jumped into the pool. We climbed out of the pool and walked back into the house, still holding hands.

“I’m going to take a shower. If you don’t let go, you’ll have to shower with me!” I chuckled.

“I would, but Mom and Dad would kill me if they caught us.”

She didn’t let go of my hand, so I pulled her into the bathroom and shut and locked the door. I turned on the shower, then helped her out of her suit and took mine off. We stepped into the shower and stood under the spray in a tight embrace. I loved the feel of her body against mine. I kissed her softly and our tongues touched gently.

“Suzana, I’m going to really miss you.”

“I’m going to miss you too, Steve.”

We hugged for five minutes under the spray and then I turned off the water. I grabbed a towel and dried her off, then dried myself. I wrapped a towel around her and then one around me. I opened the door and didn’t see anyone in the family room, so we walked out hand-in-hand to Suzana’s room. I watched her dress and then we went to my room and she watched me dress.

“That was really cool,” she said.

“It was,” I replied.

We sat in my room listening to music until Patrick came to find us and let us know it was time for a family golf outing. We piled into the Volvo and drove to the course. We played eighteen holes, and I made par on four different holes, much to Suzana’s surprise. She teased me mercilessly about my game, but I knew it was all in fun and I also knew I played badly.

We had lunch at the Clubhouse and then headed home. I hung out with Patrick, Peter, and Suzana until dinner. Dinner was a wonderful meal with cake for dessert. They sang to me. Anders and Eva gave me a crystal Dala Horse as a going away gift. I thanked them for everything and told them that I had thoroughly enjoyed my time with them. We drank wine and beer and talked for the rest of the evening.

At bedtime, Suzana came to the door of my room and handed me a small box. I opened it and found a chain with a small ‘S’ charm hanging from it.

“It’s ‘S’ for Steve or Suzana, take your pick,” she smiled.

“Thanks,” I said and put it around my neck.

I finished packing my things and set everything just outside the door to my room. I was tired because I hadn’t slept well the night before and fell asleep rather quickly. I slept soundly and woke refreshed. I went out to jog for the last time, wondering if I would ever be back. I hoped I would, but I didn’t know for sure. I returned to the house, showered, dressed, and joined the family for breakfast.

Around 8:30am we got into the Volvo wagon and drove to Centralstationen. When I got out of the car, I was happy to see my friends waiting for me. It wasn’t just Torbjörn, Elizabeth, and Cecilia, but Helge, Christina, and Suzanne as well. As I greeted them, I saw another friend walk onto the platform — Sofia! Sadly, I only had about fifteen minutes before I had to board. Anders made sure my bags were on the train, which allowed me to stay with my friends.

As the departure time approached, I shook hands with Anders and Patrick and then hugged Eva and Pernilla. Suzana hugged me tight and kissed me, parting her lips so that we could share a soft French kiss. That drew a stern look from Anders, but I simply didn’t care. She’d have to explain it to him, not me.

Torbjörn and Helge each shook my hand, Cecilia gave me a brief hug and then Christina Eriksson kissed me softly and hugged me tight.

“I wish it had been possible,” I whispered in her ear.

“Me too,” she whispered back.

Suzanne hugged me and gave me a kiss on the cheek, then said, “Write to me, please.”

“I will.”

Elizabeth came up to me and hugged me. I kissed her softly on the lips and when she didn’t pull away, I parted my lips and we exchanged a soft French kiss.

That left Sofia, who had watched all of this with tears streaming down her face. I took her hand and pulled her to me and held her in a fierce embrace. She moved to kiss me and we kissed deeply and our tongues tangled. The kiss went on for a couple of minutes before we stopped to breathe.

“If you two are just friends, I’d hate to see what you would do if you were lovers!” Suzana teased.

She knew better, of course, but that was the right thing to say aloud. I wondered again what the conversation between Suzana and Anders would be like at home.

The conductor made the last boarding call, and I released Sofia and picked up my bag. I waved to everyone as I boarded the train, finding a seat by the window so I could see them for as long as possible. A few minutes later, the train pulled from the station and I was on my way to Helsingborg. I watched my friends disappear as the train rounded a bend and then settled back in my seat.

It was odd, but I didn’t have tears in my eyes as I left Göteborg.

July 1980, Helsingborg, Sweden

I was surprised to see who was on the platform when the train rolled to a stop in Helsingborg. Of course Pia was there, but so were Putte and Kathy. The biggest surprise was Mary Anderberg, who, like Peter, had arrived home the previous weekend. I shook hands with Putte, and both Mary and Kathy hugged me briefly. Pia gave me a fierce hug, and we exchanged a quick kiss, while Putte made sure my bags were offloaded. He helped me carry them to his car. The bags barely fit in the trunk and it was a tight fit in the car with Mary, Pia, and me in the back seat, with Pia clinging tightly to me.

“We’re going to our house first for lunch with our parents, then Putte and Kathy will take you and Pia to her place,” Mary said.

“Sounds good!” I said.

We chatted a bit about her year in the US and mine in Sweden. She complained that she had developed a real love for ice cream and had gained eight kilos because of it! I told her I loved ice cream, but I swam almost every day at home and had jogged or skated almost every day here. She told me she was glad to see that Pia and I were still together. I asked her about Peter and she said they weren’t getting back together.

We arrived at the Anderberg’s house and Rolf and Sinikka greeted me warmly as we walked in the door. Sinikka had lunch on the table, so we went right to the dining room to eat. The conversation was lively with Mary and I exchanging stories and the others hanging on every word.

At the end of the meal, Rolf handed me an envelope, and Sinikka handed me a box. I opened the box first, finding a very nice commemorative china plate from Helsingborg. The envelope had a small plastic card, the same size as a credit card with my name embossed on it and the logo for ‘57:n’ the disco that Rolf was buying.

“That’s a lifetime entry card, Steve. You never have to pay for the disco. The two little stars mean you don’t pay for food or drinks, either!” Rolf said.

“Thanks! Now I certainly have to come back!”

“Hey, how do I get one of those?” Putte chuckled.

“You’re going to be married to Kathy; I think you’ll get one!” Mary said, causing everyone to laugh.

“Did I miss something? Are you two engaged?”

“No, we’re not. But we’ll probably have a kid in the next few years, so at some point we’ll get married,” Putte answered.

“Congratulations!” I said.

“He makes lots of assumptions!” Kathy giggled. “But he’s right!”

That caused general laughter again.

“We need to toast to Steve before he leaves,” Rolf said.

He set out shot glasses and poured an amber liquor into them.

“This is Akvavit, flavored with caraway. Just sip a little after each toast. That’s the Swedish tradition.”

Each person at the table made a toast to me, or to me and Mary, and we all drank. Kathy abstained so she could drive Putte’s car to take us to Pia’s.

When we had finished, we said our goodbyes and Rolf encouraged me strongly to come visit and to keep in touch. We shook hands and then Sinikka and Mary each gave me a hug. They came to the driveway and waved goodbye as Kathy, Putte, Pia, and I piled into his car and drove off.

Kathy and Putte were going to join us for dinner at Pia’s, so after Kathy parked the car, the four of us went up to the apartment. Pia’s parents weren’t home from work yet, but Lisbet was there.

“He’s back. Another sleepless night for Pia. And for me, having to listen to them!” she teased.

“What are you talking about, Lisbet?” Putte asked.

“You don’t know? These two are insatiable. They screw all night. And I mean, all night!” she giggled.

“You’re just jealous!” I teased.

“Pia’s very selfish. She won’t share!” Lisbet pouted.

“Putte, if you take Lisbet’s side on this, you sleep on the couch for a week!” Kathy teased.

“Let’s play Uno!” Putte said, quickly changing the subject and avoiding the wrath of sister or girlfriend.

“Coward!” Lisbet giggled.

We played Uno for the rest of the afternoon and enjoyed a fun conversation. I was glad Lisbet had stopped teasing, though I figured she’d make a few more comments before I left.

Bengt and Malin arrived home a few minutes apart, just after 5:30pm. Malin started preparing dinner with help from Kathy and Lisbet. Bengt set the table and then opened a couple of bottles of wine. He also brought out a bottle of Akvavit. Like at the Anderbergs, when dinner was finished, Bengt poured Akvavit for all of us and there were several rounds of toasts. Putte and Kathy would take a taxi home and come back for his car the next day, so they both drank.