Atonement(38)
“We looked around at several countries. For a while we were considering New Zealand but it seemed too far away and we wanted to be close enough so that our grandchildren would still bother to visit us. Norway seemed like the most logical choice. There is a very small but vibrant Dutch community here in the Oslo suburban area and we get together a few times per month. We speak Dutch, bring traditional dishes and talk about our country and how it was before…globalization.”
“Please don’t get us wrong, my dear. We are happy Colin brought you here and can only hope you enjoy yourself. We didn’t want you to think we were racists. It’s just…both Kerstan and I grew up in a very different era. When we married, it was a huge scandal because my family is Catholic and his is Protestant. That was a big deal back then. The Netherlands has a very long history of pillars and polarization. Everyone stayed within their own…Jews married Jews, Catholics married Catholics, and Protestants married Protestants.”
Laurina paused before she continued, “There has been a lot of change since the fifties and the sixties. I love that small beautiful country below sea level. Sometimes I wish we could just move back and deal with it but…what kind of life would that be for us? I suppose what I am trying to say is that you must live for yourself and although political correctness is wonderful in theory, it doesn’t quite gel with the harsh realities of life. We want our grandchildren to merely be as happy as we have managed to be over these years.”
“Well to me, that seems like a healthy attitude and with grandparents like you, I think Colin is very lucky indeed,” I said with a smile.
Dinner was a drawn out affair but both Laurina and Kerstan were so interesting to talk to, I was almost a bit sad to see it end.
Fatigue didn’t set in until Colin and I made our way up to the guest bedroom and we both undressed and readied ourselves for bed. I realized I was exhausted and the aquavit had definitely done its job.
Shortly after I changed into my pajamas, I crawled into bed and Colin did the same, opting to sleep in a pair of white boxers and matching wife-beater. We curled up underneath one another for warmth and I inhaled his manly scent.
“So, what do you think? I hope you don’t regret us making this decision to come see my grandparents.”
“What a silly question,” I responded as I looked into his amazing crystal blue eyes. “I’ve fallen in love with your grandparents. Maybe because they seem so real and don’t put on any airs. They are great people and I can’t wait to get to know them better.”
“I’m glad you approve.”
I kissed his lips quickly and murmured, “Good night.”
He seemed a bit taken aback but he repeated, “Good night.”
Before I could form another single coherent thought, I was asleep.
Chapter Eleven
THE FIRST WEEK passed by before either one us knew what hit us.
It was much too easy getting into the routine of awakening early followed by a shower, breakfast with Laurina and Kerstan, followed by exploration around the area. We hadn’t bothered to go to Oslo yet but we planned to however the suburbs gave us plenty of opportunity to explore our curiosity.
I made my very first trip with Colin to the Systembolaget, Norway’s state-run alcohol stores which staffed all the hard alcohol, beer and wine that surpassed the proof limit to be sold in grocery stores and convenient supermarkets. It was definitely a revelation as we picked up another bottle of aquavit along with vodka and whiskey, vermouth and bitters.
He planned to make Manhattans for us that night and we needed to actually buy all the ingredients.
It was a Monday evening and hard to believe we’d already been away from Seattle for a week.
“Do you miss it?” I asked after we’d loaded the alcohol into the trunk of his grandparents’ Baltic blue Land Rover LR4.
“Miss what?” he wondered after we were seated and he started up the vehicle. It was a manual which meant driving for me was out until he promised to teach me how to drive a manual vehicle.
“The States, being gone from Seattle?”
“Not really. Not much to miss. My life had pretty much taken on a day-to-day routine that was starting to do my head in. Get up, go to the coffee shop, work my ass off and then head over to O’Shaughnessy’s and do what I had to do there. The more I think about my life in Seattle, the more I can see I was stuck in a rut.”
He paused as he stopped at a red light. “The problem is I was so desperate to have freedom to do what I wanted when ever I wanted, I didn’t really think about the consequences. Sure, life was passing me by and I was subsisting on too much booze, bar food and one night stands but it was still my life. The longer we are away, the more I realize I don’t want to live like that anymore and I thank you for forcing me to see the error of my ways.”