Chapter 5: Vänner och Älskare (Friends and Lovers), Part I

June 1982, Helsingborg, Sweden

After a drive, a ferry, and another drive, we arrived at the Anderbergs’ house. They were impressed at how well I’d kept up my Swedish, and I explained that weekly calls to Karin as well as occasional calls to other friends, and the letters I wrote and received, including from them, had allowed me to keep it up. After having a cup of coffee, I took a quick shower and then Rolf suggested we go for a walk. He said getting out in the sun would help my jetlag.

We walked for nearly an hour before heading back to the house, then further on about a kilometer to a small sidewalk café. After lunch, we walked back to his house. I asked Rolf’s permission to make a couple of calls. My first call was to Kara.

“Steve!” she squealed. “How was the flight?”

“Pretty good. I slept. I used to not sleep on planes, but I’m starting to get used to it. How are things there?”

“OK, I guess. Joyce stayed last night as we planned. She’s leaving on Sunday when we go to check out the new church. I cried myself to sleep both nights. It really seems to hit me at bedtime for some reason.”

“How’s your mom?”

“She’s doing OK, too. Grandma left last night. She and mom had an argument about church and about you. Mom told her it was best if she went home. One of mom’s friends who doesn’t go to Grace Church is staying with her for a few days. She also talked to your dad yesterday. And I do have some good news.”

“What’s that?”

“In the Milford Advertiser there was a help wanted ad for an engineering firm over close to your house. They need a receptionist. Their regular receptionist is going on maternity leave on August 1st and they need someone for eight months. I called and they want me to come for an interview on Monday. They’ve been having a hard time finding someone because it’s a temporary job and only pays $4.10 an hour.”

“That’s not bad, though, considering the minimum is $3.35, and that’s what you would get for a lot of entry-level jobs.”

“I thought about it for Mom, but she doesn’t want to have to look again in eight months, so that’s why I called.”

“Let me know how it goes when I call next weekend!”

“I love you Steve!”

“I love you too, Kara. I’ll call you next Saturday.”

When we hung up, I called Stephanie to let her know that I’d arrived safely. We talked for a few minutes and she promised to check on Kara every day for me.

I went back to the living room with the Anderbergs and relaxed until 4:00pm, when I packed a small overnight bag, and then Kathy, Mary, and I headed to Putte and Kathy’s apartment. I was happily surprised when at 5:00pm, Johan, Mia, Pelle, and Katarina arrived. They had been at that first party I’d been invited to on my first trip to Sweden. The only people who would be missing were Mary’s boyfriend, Peter, and my former lover, Pia. I was supposed to call her in the morning, and was looking forward to spending the day with her. Peter wouldn’t be at the party because he and Mary had broken up, but her new boyfriend, Janne, would be arriving shortly.

Janne arrived at 5:15pm and then the buzzer rang again about 5:30pm. Putte laughed and pushed the button by the intercom without asking who was there. A minute later, Pia walked into the apartment with a big smile.

“Pia!” I exclaimed happily.

I jumped up and went to her and hugged her tight. She looked fantastic, just as she had two years ago with her long, flowing brown hair, hazel eyes, and killer figure. Like the first time, it was accentuated by tight jeans that showed off her long legs and a form-fitting sweater that clung to her breasts. She gave me a quick kiss on the lips and took my hand and led me to sit on the couch.

“I didn’t expect to see you tonight!” I said.

“I know! I asked Putte not to tell you. I wanted it to be a surprise. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not! I hope you’ll dance with me tonight, as we did that first night!”

She smiled, “Yes!”

“Isn’t that the same sweater you wore three years ago?” I asked with a smile.

“Good memory!” she smiled.

“Lots of good memories,” I agreed.

We talked and caught up since our last letters, which had been in April. About 6:15pm Putte announced that dinner was ready and the eight of us sat down to eat the pizza that he’d made. He opened a few bottles of wine and we ate and drank until everyone had their fill. Kathy and Mary cleaned up while Putte and Janne moved the furniture so we’d be able to dance. They also set out bottles of brandy and vodka.

“No Uno?” I chuckled.

“We could, if you wanted!” Kathy called over from the kitchen.

“Sure! Just like the first party,” I said.

Pia smiled and nodded and we arranged the chairs around the table and played Uno for the next hour and a half. When we finished, Kathy made some popcorn and then put on some dance music. I asked Pia to dance in the same way I had two years before and she smiled and said ‘yes’. We spent the next couple of hours dancing, drinking, and talking. I was surprised just how alert I was given the flight and time zones, but I was feeling a hard crash coming on. About 12:30am Mary and Janne left to walk the few blocks to their place and Pelle called for a taxi which arrived about twenty minutes later to take him and Katarina to their place.

I told Putte that I should probably head to bed and said goodnight to Pia. She laughed and took my hand and led me into the bedroom. She pointed at her overnight bag that was sitting on the floor by the closet.

“I dropped it off earlier,” she smiled. “I hope it’s OK if I stay.”

“I thought you had a boyfriend, Pia? You know I don’t want to interfere.”

“Johan? We broke up months ago. He took a job in the Netherlands and I’m still at university, and didn’t want to move. I’ve been going out with a group of friends, but nobody special. It’s possible Johan and I will get back together in three years when I graduate, but we’ll see. Is it OK if I stay?”

“Yes,” I said and smiled, then pulled her into my arms and we exchanged a very nice French kiss.

Pia sighed, “I’ve missed those!”

We quickly undressed and got into bed, pulling the duvet over us. After a bit of kissing, we made love slowly and passionately and when we finished, I moved off of her and promptly fell asleep. I awoke Sunday morning to Pia gently shaking my shoulder.

“«Frukost är klar»,” I heard, not comprehending.

I shook my head to clear it and quickly remembered where I was. I consciously switched my brain over to Swedish. Somehow the trip and time change had disoriented me, and the two years away had made English the default for my dreams and my thinking.

“Breakfast is ready, Steve,” I heard, this time understanding what Pia had said.

“Sorry!” I said, “My brain isn’t fully engaged yet. It’s about 1:00am back home, I guess. Is it OK to shower first so I can be semi-coherent?”

She laughed, “Yes!”

I grabbed my bag and went to the shower. As usual, I turned up the temperature as hot as I could stand and let the warm water and steam clear my head. After a few minutes, I was feeling almost human and then quickly washed up, dried off, and went to eat breakfast. I smiled when I saw the bowl of «filmjölk», the corn flakes, «knäckebröd», butter, and cheese of a standard Swedish breakfast. I’d mostly eaten bacon or sausage, eggs, and waffles for the past couple of years, so this was a nice change.

“Steve,” Putte said, “after our friends leave, Kathy and I want to take you and Pia to Tivoli. Are you up for that?”

“Absolutely!” I replied. “Pia and I had a good time there when I was here before.”

“No running today?” Kathy asked.

“No,” I said. “I was so addled when I woke up. I didn’t think it was a good idea.”

Mia and Johan left shortly after breakfast, and a few minutes later, Kathy, Putte, Pia, and I got into his car for the trip to Tivoli in Copenhagen. We had a very nice day walking the park, going on a few of the rides, and having lunch in the park. Pia and I spent most of the walking time holding hands. In many ways, it felt like I’d never left, and were it not for Kara, I’d seriously consider staying in Sweden.

That evening we had a late dinner at Rolf’s restaurant, Paletten, and then went to his discotheque, 57:n, to have a few drinks. Around midnight, we dropped Pia at home. I’d be having dinner at her house on Monday night and staying the night. I asked about Lisbet and Pia just laughed and said she would be at dinner. When we got back to the Anderberg house, I immediately went to bed and was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

On Monday, after breakfast, I hung out with Rolf while he ran errands and supervised the daily preparations at his restaurant and disco. I really enjoyed talking with him and got an interesting ‘behind the scenes’ look at how his businesses operated. To me, it looked like barely organized chaos, from deliveries of fresh vegetables and seafood to cleaning to food preparation in the kitchen to sound checks in the disco and restocking the bar. It seemed that every couple of minutes, a new person showed up with a clipboard or a sheaf of papers to talk to Rolf and either make a report or get his approval.

“You can see this keeps me busy!” he said when we took a short break for coffee. “But it beats living the rest of my life as a retired sea captain! I was getting bored. This is never boring! In perhaps five or six years, I’ll sell it and then we’ll travel the world for a year. Perhaps then, when I’m 70, I’ll be ready to settle down. If not, I’ll find something not quite as crazy as this.”

“I’d say this looks like a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. I’m amazed at how chaotic it is.”

“I didn’t really know what it was like until the first day after I took over from the previous owner. He had a manager who handled all these things, but after a time, he wasn’t doing what I wanted, so I gave him the kick. Now I’m doing it myself and it’s a lot of fun, but you’re right, it’s a bit crazy! What are you doing for the rest of your trip? I know you said you were going to see your class graduate.”

“That’s the main thing. I’ll be in Göteborg for a little over a week. There are some parties for graduation and some friends to see, and then I’ll go to Stockholm.”

“You’ll be staying with Lars Andersson, right? He and I are still friends. I don’t hear from Anders Jonsson, though.”

“No,” I said. “He and I had a bit of a falling out at the very end. Nothing terrible, but enough that I’m not surprised. I have exchanged a few letters with Suzana, but otherwise I haven’t really had contact with them. I do talk to Karin Andersson nearly every week, though.”

“And I see you and Pia have picked up right where you left off,” he smiled.

“I was surprised, really. The last I heard, she and Johan were together, but I guess he’s moved to the Netherlands.”

“Yes, he got a job with KLM and transferred there in the Spring. Putte says Pia has really misses you.”

“She made that clear,” I replied. “We didn’t have a lot of time alone together, but tomorrow morning, we’re going to the beach.”

“And Wednesday morning you leave for Göteborg after breakfast. Are you sleeping at our house on Tuesday night?”

“I plan to. I assume it’s OK if Pia stays? If she wants to, that is.”

“Of course, Steve. You know we have no problem with that.”

I smiled, and we got up from the coffee table and Rolf went back to work with me tagging along. We had a quick lunch in the kitchen of the restaurant and then went out to look at some new sound equipment he was planning to buy. We spent an hour with a sound engineer going over the planned upgrade to the mixing board and other controls and when they finished, they shook hands on the deal. Rolf signed the contract, and we headed home. I changed and packed my overnight bag and then walked to the bus stop to head to Pia’s apartment.

When I rang the bell, someone buzzed me in and I was greeted at the door by Bengt and Malin, Pia’s parents. I slipped off my shoes and walked into the apartment to find Pia and Lisbet sitting on the couch. Pia jumped up and hugged me and gave me a quick, soft kiss. Lisbet stood up and walked over to me and gave me a hug. Over her shoulder I saw Pia make a kissing motion with her lips and nod. I took the hint and gave Lisbet one of my best, sexiest kisses.

“Oh my!” she gasped. “I didn’t expect that!”

“Your sister gave me the OK. How are you, Lisbet?”

“Good. Though I think my boyfriend might object to that kiss!”

“Oh! I’m really sorry. I didn’t realize.”

“Don’t you dare apologize! I’d drag you to my room right now if Pia would let me.”

“Not if you have a boyfriend, Lisbet. I have a firm rule about that.”

“That’s what Pia said, but I didn’t really believe her. You’d turn down a no-strings-attached screw because the girl has a boyfriend?”

“Every time,” I replied, then repeated it for effect. “Every time.”

That wasn’t strictly true, but the one purposeful exception that I’d made was for Sofia Katsaros, my best friend in Hovås, and an exception for her really had to be the one that proved the rule.

Lisbet shook her head and went to sit down. I sat on the couch next to Pia and Malin brought us coffee and cookies. We drank and talked and ate cookies for about an hour, when Pia asked me to take a walk with her. We left the apartment and walked hand-in-hand down the street towards a park.

“You’ve said a few things that make me think things aren’t going as well for you as you imply to everyone,” Pia said.