Chapter 35: A Second Marriage and a Second Chance

June 1983, Göteborg, Sweden

Sofia was waiting on the platform for me when the train pulled into Göteborg's Centralstationen. I grabbed my bag and hopped off the train into her waiting embrace. We kissed, then walked hand-in-hand off the platform and to the city street. We stopped at a sidewalk café for lunch, and after we ate, we headed back to the hotel to drop my bag. We then walked to a nearby coffee shop to drink coffee and continue talking.

Sofia had asked about Helsingborg as soon as I'd stepped off the train and I saw a small smile and a sparkle in her eye when I told her about the conversation with Pia and how she and I had left things. I knew that Sofia was mentally crossing Pia off a list of competitors and I didn't begrudge her savoring the moment, though I hoped that she understood just how much of a long shot her hopes were. Even coming to Chicago wouldn't seriously improve them, even though I admitted to myself she was right that not doing so would probably leave her in the same situation as Pia.

As I thought more about it, Suzanne and Tina were likely in the same boat, so to speak. The distance was just too great to overcome unless I moved to Sweden, and even if I did that, Karin loomed large over any other relationship. Karin and Sofia had somehow managed, at least so far, to keep things alive, so to speak, even if the relationships were more or less on life support. Unless something drastic changed, my conversation with Karin in two years was going to wrap up our relationship, much the same way I had just done with Pia.

Distance was a barrier not just to the Swedish girls, but to Tatyana and Jennifer as well. While we could talk on the phone and see each other occasionally, Stephie was with me day-in and day-out, and that made the relationship work so much better, and it was growing stronger by the day. Even the much shorter distance between Milford and Chicago had put some strain on my relationship with Kara, and the even shorter distance to Madison interfered with my relationship with my best friend. The only relationship that didn't seem to suffer from distance was with my sister, but even there, not seeing each other regularly caused small rifts and gulfs.

In the end, I thought Sofia had the right answer, though because of Stephie, I didn't know how much good it would do. I was concerned that Sofia thought it was somehow a ticket to a long-term relationship with me and that was something that I couldn't promise, nor, if I was completely honest, foresee. It wasn't that I didn't like Sofia, or think that we weren't compatible, it was that there were, in effect, other girls in line ahead of her. I wasn't comfortable with that line of thinking, but in the end, I couldn't think of another way to describe it.

"Are you coming back to the hotel tonight?" Sofia asked.

"That is my plan," I answered. "I'm taking Suzanne to dinner, but we didn't talk about doing anything else, and she didn't mention doing anything else when I saw her at the party on Monday."

"Is it OK if I wait there for you to come back? We'll only have three more days together. You're leaving on Sunday afternoon, right?"

"Yes. My train leaves at 2:35pm. And yes, I'd love to have you at the hotel when I come back tonight!"

"Good!" she declared.

We finished our coffee and walked around Göteborg, returning to the hotel around 4:30pm so I could shower and dress for my dinner with Suzanne. When I was ready to go, I kissed Sofia goodbye and headed down to the street to catch a taxi to Suzanne's house. I asked the driver to wait while I walked up to the front door and rang the bell. Suzanne opened the door and after a quick hug we went back to the taxi, which took us to the restaurant in the center of Göteborg.

When we arrived at the restaurant, we were seated quickly and after a quick look at the menus, we ordered our food. Suzanne and I had kept in fairly close touch, and she knew that Kara and I had broken up, but none of the details, and that I was living with Stephie. I knew that she'd been dating but hadn't met anyone that she liked enough to start a serious relationship. When we finished eating, we walked to an ice cream shop to have dessert and then walked along the Göta Älv.

When it grew dark, we headed back towards the center of town to catch a cab back to Suzanne's house. She invited me in for tea and we sat in her kitchen to drink it. Her mom came in and said 'hello', but quickly left us alone. Neither of us had even hinted at resuming our physical relationship, and as much as I would have liked to, it seemed as if Suzanne wasn't interested, or if she was, she wasn't giving any indications.

"Are you still planning to come back next year?" she asked.

"I am. This was a special trip for the wedding and I extended it a bit so that I could visit friends. Next Summer I plan to stay a month or so."

"Perhaps we can spend more time together next time?"

"I'd like that. This week has been so busy between all the stuff surrounding the wedding and going to Helsingborg for a few days to see my friends there. On Sunday, I'm heading to Alingsås to see a friend and from there to Stockholm to see Karin and her family."

"I'm glad you took the time to have dinner with me."

"I'm glad too!" I said.

We talked for a few more minutes and then Suzanne offered to call a taxi for me. After she made the call, we went to stand on the front porch to wait. When I saw the car pulling up, I pulled Suzanne into a tight hug and we exchanged a soft kiss. The taxi stopped in front of the house and I gave Suzanne an additional quick kiss and then got into the taxi which took me back to Viktoriagatan. I paid the fare and headed up to my room and the waiting Sofia.

"You're earlier than I expected," she said.

"It was just dinner, dessert, and tea, plus a walk along the river," I said.

"Interesting. That's two girls that you were with last time that you weren't with this time."

"Are you keeping score?" I asked with a grin, sitting down next to her on the small couch in the room.

"I suppose I am. You seem like a very different person now than when you were here as an exchange student."

"I'm almost four years older than when we met, and so are you. And a heck of a lot has happened in the last four years."

"That's true. You seem more sober and thoughtful. You were always really introspective, but now you seem to think more about what you're doing."

"True. I told you about my new friend Anala and how she's really made me think hard about myself. Honestly, and I'm sure you were aware, I probably wouldn't have made love with you if you hadn't forced the issue."

"Of course I knew that! We've been talking enough, and I understood where you're coming from. And I knew that you would be reluctant to make love because of your situation with Stephie, because of what happened with Kara and because of Karin, and maybe because of Pia. So I forced the issue."

I chuckled, "Yes, you did. I'm not complaining, and I'm not objecting! I guess my concern is that you might be putting too much faith in something happening in the future."

"Let me worry about that. I told you that the worst-case scenario is to get a degree and go to medical school in the US."

"Do you know what school you want to go to?"

"The University of Illinois at Chicago for my degree and then Loyola Medical School is where I want to go. I'll apply for my visa at the end of the Summer."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" I asked.

"Marry me!" she giggled. "But otherwise, no. If I'm accepted to university, the visa is simple to get."

"The only wedding happening this week is Katt and Mikael's!" I chuckled.

We talked for a while longer, then went to bed and made love before falling asleep spooned together.

Friday was a busy day, breakfast and lunch with Katt, Mikael, and Laura, who had arrived the previous morning, then a trip to the church in Västra Frölunda for the rehearsal. The priest at the Lutheran Church explained the ceremony and laid out what each person was expected to do. As Best Man, my job was basically to stand next to Mikael while Laura stood next to Katt as her Maid of Honor. It was a fairly short rehearsal and when we finished, the families went to dinner.

I did get a chance to talk to Laura a bit and get caught up with how things were going. She'd won a couple of competitions but felt that she wasn't making the kind of progress she needed to. She was thinking of switching to coaching and choreographing. She was working with a couple of young girls who were just learning to skate and was enjoying it. She planned to stay in Colorado, but she'd be moving to Denver if she decided to coach. She was still dating the same guy and because he was attending school in Denver, in addition to running the charitable foundation, that would work out well for them.

After dinner everyone went to the Sundströms' room and we drank several toasts to Katt and Mikael, after which Sofia and I headed to our room where we made slow, passionate love before falling asleep.

On Saturday, we slept late and had brunch with Katt and Mikael and their families, plus Laura and Johanna. After brunch, we all went up to our rooms to dress. Once Katt was ready, everyone went down to the lobby to wait for the two limos that would take us to the church. While we stood there, I asked Katt what she was going to do about her last name.

"Keep it, of course. That's the Swedish way, not to mention that I'm known by that name in skating circles. Mikael and I discussed it."

"What about kids?" I asked.

"His name for any boys, my name for any girls, but that's ten years from now, at least!" she exclaimed.

I chuckled, "You said that about getting married, if I recall correctly!"

"I did, didn't I? You and Sofia seem to be getting along pretty well."

"Yes, but you know what's going on in my life. Don't read too much into it."

"You make a cute couple," Katt said. "You need a Swedish girl, Steve. Whether it's Sofia, Tina, Suzanne, or Karin doesn't matter. I don't think you'll be happy with an American girl in the long run."

"What makes you say that?" I asked.

"The way you view life, your attitudes towards sex, your ideas for raising your children. All of that fits better with your Swedish girls than any of your American girls, especially Kara."

"Well, Kara's out of the picture," I said. "And Stephie and I see pretty much eye-to-eye on most things."

"Marry a Swedish girl, Steve," she said just as the limos pulled up.

I saw Sofia smile slightly at Katt's command.

Everyone got into the cars and we were quickly whisked to Västra Frölunda. As we entered the church, I saw about a hundred people already seated and waiting for the ceremony to start. We took our places and a moment later, the priest began reading from the service book.

This was the second marriage I'd been involved in, and I was glad that this one would create far less drama than the first, when I'd 'given away' Jennie Sanders, though she'd been Jennie McGrath until she'd said 'I do'.

About thirty minutes later, Katt and Mikael were married and greeted all their guests. I was a bit surprised to see Lotta, Mikael's old girlfriend, talking to him. When she spotted me, she came over to me and said hello.

"How are you, Lotta?" I asked.

"Good. You know I was upset with you for not calling me after Mikael left, but I realized that it was a good thing you didn't. I'd have done something really dumb out of spite, and it would have been a huge mistake."

We talked for a few more minutes, and then I went to kiss Katt and shake Mikael's hand. Katt refused a quick kiss, so I gave her the hottest, sexiest French kiss that I could. She sighed deeply when I finally broke the kiss. We hugged tightly, and she whispered in my ear.

"Damn you for not taking the opportunity to fool around the other night!"

"You know better, Katt," I whispered back. "You and Mikael have fun on your honeymoon!"

The reception moved outside to tables and tents on the lawn behind the church and everyone ate, drank, and danced until late into the evening when Katt and Mikael left. They'd be leaving for Switzerland first thing in the morning and wanted to get a good night's sleep, or so they claimed to wild laughter from their guests. Sofia and I agreed with their sentiment, so we walked to the tram stop and headed back to the hotel to get a good night's sleep.

Of course, we didn't, just as we assumed that Katt and Mikael didn't. Sofia and I made love three times before we fell asleep with our bodies entwined. When we woke, we made love again, before showering together and heading downstairs for breakfast with the Sundströms. After breakfast, Sofia and I went back to the room to relax until lunch.

"I'm curious," Sofia said. "Are you going to sleep with Tina?"

"I don't think she'll take 'no' for an answer any more than you would," I said. "Is that a problem?"

"No, of course not. I don't have any claims on you. Yet," she added with a smile. "I was just curious."

"Scoping out the competition?" I asked with a smile.

"Yes and no. The real competition is from Jennifer, I think. From everything you've said, it's either her or Karin. I don't think things can work out with your Russian friend for all the reasons we discussed, and you don't either. As for Karin, if you two were going to be together, it probably would have already happened. I know that could change, but at this point, I don't think so. It's Jennifer's game to lose."

I chuckled, "You aren't the only one who thinks so. The thing is, I don't. I know the issues Jen and I have had, and all the things we've done to each other. I've talked to you about them. Add in the fact that I'm happy with the way things are going with Stephie right now and I guess I don't see it the way that you, Bethany, and Kathy do. And neither of them is factoring you in at all."

"I'm the dark horse, then?" she asked with a smile. "Well, as you've said, we'll see what happens."

"Just keep me posted on coming to Chicago, but make sure you remember that I'm living with Stephie and I don't expect that to change."

"I know. One step at a time, Steve. Isn't that how you're living your life?"

"It is."

We had lunch, checked out of the room, said 'goodbye' to the Sundströms and then headed to Centralstationen. Sofia walked me to the door of the coach, we hugged and kissed, promised to write and call, and I boarded the train. I found a seat next to a window, opened it and leaned out so that I could wave to Sofia and watch as she grew smaller and smaller as the train slowly pulled away from the station. When I could no longer see her, I settled back in my seat for the short trip to Alingsås.

June 1983, Alingsås, Sweden

As I had the previous year, I stepped off the train and scanned the platform for Tina. She was dressed the same way she had then, in a white blouse and black jeans, with her black fedora. She skipped up to me and we exchanged a hug and a soft kiss.

"I'm glad you're here!" Tina said, hugging me tight.

"I'm glad to be here!" I answered.