“Bettina, how are you?”
“Good question. I’ve been talking with Aunt Mathilde both yesterday and today. She’s not easy to deal with.”
Flemming laughed. “No, that’s for sure. Why do you think we haven’t visited much in recent years? It was different when Olga was alive. Everyone agreed on that. We had a lot of fun in the old house.”
“What happens if I turn down the inheritance?”
“I’m not sure. I suppose the house will stay as it is. It’s impossible to rent out rooms when it’s not ready to accommodate guests. There’s no way Mathilde can do the rest herself. It was my brother who was the brain behind it all. She advised regarding colors and furnishings, but nothing more than that.”
“No, she’s lying there feeling sorry for herself. I can’t see how she’ll manage this alone.” She told him about the visits.
“Can you see yourself moving there? And are you willing to give up your job as a physiotherapist?”
It went silent, and her mind began to wander again. She pulled herself together and tried to concentrate.
“It’s not the same at work now you’re no longer there. I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to make the guesthouse operational. That is, if they have a decent handball team in Solvik. We’re talking about big changes for Anneli as well. Her wishes are my top priority. But I got the impression that she liked it out there.”
“What about Preben?”
“He’ll have to visit me on weekends for now. Then we’ll take it from there. He’s skeptical, but I feel like I need to do this for Uncle Herman. This was your brother’s dream. I want to fulfill it.”
“I’ll have a serious talk with Mathilde. As long as this is what you want, it’s fine by me. But it’s wrong to do it for Herman’ sake. You have to do it for yourself and Anneli.”
3
Mathilde frowned and hung up the phone. How aggravating to be corrected by her brother-in-law. She didn’t appreciate the way he talked to her but had to admit there was some truth in what he’d said. She knew she wouldn’t be able to run the place by herself, that much was obvious. She wasn’t a youngster any longer. But she didn’t like strangers moving in to take charge. After all, this was her home and had been for the last fifteen years. She’d pointed it out several times, but nobody seemed to listen. Bettina wanted to do everything her way. They appeared to be equally stubborn. However, it was plain that she needed her help. And she didn’t like it one bit.
She pushed her glasses back onto her nose. It looked like she had no choice. Herman had made sure of that. She had to give in, but not more than was strictly necessary.
***
Bettina did some research on sports clubs in Solvik the next day. They confirmed that the local handball team was indeed active, and they were getting a new coach in the fall. The new coach had been playing at a high level. This calmed both Bettina and Anneli.
When she received a call from Mathilde later in the day, she was taken by surprise. She hadn’t expected to hear from her.
“This is Mrs. Fredriksen,” she started.
Bettina almost couldn’t keep it together. “How nice.”
“Well, I have discussed the issue with Flemming.” It went quiet on the other end. “I’m willing to let you pick the color and furniture of your choice. On the remaining rooms, that is. But don’t expect me to help you with anything at all in the house or the garden. You are entirely on your own.”
Bettina didn’t know what to think of this about-face. She was glad that Mathilde would give her free rein. Her father had clearly expressed his opinion on the matter. On the other hand, she wasn’t ready to do it all by herself. It was a huge responsibility. To redecorate alone, run the guesthouse, manage the marketing and all the operational aspects, and maintain the garden on the same level as her aunt had. How could one person do this alone? And what plans did Mathilde have? Would she be staying in bed indefinitely and expect Bettina to serve her around the clock? The uncertainty of the situation was incredibly frustrating, but the most difficult thing was accepting that there was nothing wrong with her aunt’s body. Her legs were fine, as was her head. Fair enough, she’d had a heart attack last year, but it didn’t mean she had to be confined to bed now.
“I’m pleased to hear that,” she finally said. “But I have to give it some thought.” She ended the conversation and poured a glass of rosé.
She went over to the window and looked out. The view couldn’t compare to the one in Solvik. She looked straight into an apartment complex on the other side of the street. But she’d lived here alone with her daughter for the last ten years and felt attached to the apartment. If they moved, she would lose part of the independence she had here. She would have to be available for the guests. What was expected of her as a host? She had no idea, but it would be up to her to decide. At the very least, she had to provide hospitality, clean the rooms, and do laundry. She did this at home as well, but on a smaller scale. Life out there would be entirely different from the comfortable life she led now, with only Anneli to care for. On the other hand, it would be rewarding to get to know new people, to the extent that the guests would want to interact with her. She was outgoing and social, so that would be ok. Nevertheless, there was a fine balance between being social and a good listener, and being too nosy for the guests’ liking.
There was also another advantage. The Solvik school was close to the mansion, so Anneli could both walk and bike to school and practice. Now, she had to take her to practice several times a week, in addition to matches on the weekends. She had to drive her, so it took up much of Bettina’s time in the evenings.
But how would it work out once she married Preben? And how would he like to live in a house full of guests? He was as social as her, but they wouldn’t have much privacy. The guests would most likely use the living room. It might be more entertaining to relax there than in the guest rooms. Especially considering the beautiful sea view. They wouldn’t get much peace in the dining room either. It had to be available for the guests to help themselves to coffee and tea. And what about meals? Did they expect more than breakfast? She could cook, but cooking for others didn’t appeal to her. Baking cookies, however, was something she was good at. She often baked several kinds, and they were always popular. People loved her cookies. She went into the kitchen and opened the cookie jar. There were some still in there, so she took one. The taste of almond and chocolate was wonderful. She would definitely bake these for the guests if she decided to move.
When Anneli came home from her friends that night, they sat down to talk. She gave a detailed description of how life in the guesthouse would be. It was important to know what they were getting themselves into. Bettina knew Anneli was tempted, but she was unsure what to do.
“This isn’t an easy decision for either of us. And it’s not something I’ll decide on my own. You mean everything to me, Anneli. The most important thing for me is that you’re happy. We have no guarantees that we’ll like life in such a small town.”
Anneli hugged her. Then she dipped tortilla chips into the homemade salsa. “The guests would like these.”
Bettina smiled. “Are you sure we’re doing the right thing?”
The teenager yawned. “I’ve talked it over with my friends. They’re disappointed, but promised to visit me in Solvik. It’s not that far. I’ll have to make new friends at school anyway. Therefore, I won’t see them that often. You always tell me to take advantage of the opportunities that come our way.”
“That’s true.” Bettina was proud that her daughter was so sensible. She’d always been mature for her age. It may have something to do with them being alone for so long. They’d had to help each other to make daily life work.
After Anneli had gone to bed, Bettina sat thinking for some time before she called Preben. Yes, it was important to take advantage of the opportunities you were offered. It was exactly what she’d done when she had the chance to continue her studies. Her parents had been a great help d
uring that difficult time. She’d stayed at home with her daughter for two years before she went to kindergarten. After that, she started her education, but Karsten passed away only a year later. She’d decided to finish her physiotherapist studies to ensure a good standard of living for them. It had been challenging and busy with an active three-year-old, but she’d managed.
“Hi, sweetie. What’s up? I miss you.”
She smiled to herself. She missed Preben, too, but she’d had a lot of other things on her mind. They hadn’t seen each other in two days, which was not like them at all.
“Me too.” She told him about the conversation with Anneli. “But the decision is just as much yours. You’ll be living there soon. I’m not sure if you’ll like life in such a small town.”
“This doesn’t come as a surprise,” he said. “I get that you’re tempted to take on the task of running the guesthouse. You know I’m hesitant to live in the countryside, but I won’t stop you, Bettina. If this is your dream, I’m in.”
She was about to say something, but he wasn’t done.
“I’ll only be living there on the weekends for now, and barely that if it’s up to Mathilde. But it’s all a matter of getting used to it. It’s important you do what you want the most, even if it will be hard with your aunt in the same house. We’ll make the most of it.”
***
No sooner said than done – three days later they were moving to Solvik. It was the last part of Anneli’s school vacation, and Bettina had transferred her patients to the capable hands of the other physiotherapists. Most people were on vacation this time of year, so it was quiet. And it was an advantage to have her parents as employers, or former employers, so that she could leave before the usual term of notice. She’d negotiated some flexibility before they sold it. It had been sad in the end since she had many colleagues there. She’d miss both them and the work itself. But it was important to settle in before school started in a few days.
She’d contacted a real estate agent. She’d sell the apartment along with most of the furniture. Since the new house was well furnished already, there was no room for her old things. They’d decided to take their beds and bedside tables, some bureaus, Anneli’s desk, and an easy chair she used in her bedroom. And a mixer, waffle iron, toaster, and egg boiler. Mathilde already had all these items, but with guests in the house, a second set might come in handy.
Her parents had traveled from the south of Norway to help with the move. Her father had brought the car trailer, which she could borrow. It’s always good to have a car trailer at hand, he used to say. Luckily, there was plenty of space in the garage, and enough room for the guests to park on the property. Uncle Herman had thought of everything when he planned this project.
Anneli chose one of the bedrooms on the second floor, and Bettina went for the room next to the kitchen. It was practical to be close to the guests if they needed her.
Together, they went up to Mathilde. Too late to change their minds now. She’d have to get along with her as best she could. Otherwise, it would be very unpleasant living under the same roof.
“Dear me, I see there’s strength in numbers.” Mathilde was sitting like a queen in her bed, reigning over her tiny kingdom. She looked from one to the other.
Flemming knew best how to handle her. “You’re lying in bed in this weather? Isn’t it better to be up?”
Mathilde scowled. “My back hurts. It’s better if I stay here.”
“You’ve got people in the house now,” he continued, pretending he didn’t hear her moaning.
“I can tell. What a racket. I hope it calms down. I can’t live with that kind of noise.”
“You’d better be grateful for the help you’re getting. And please give them a nice welcome,” Flemming said.
Mathilde changed the subject and looked at Bettina. “I want you to serve the guests from my breakfast and dinner service. The coffee and teapots that belong to the set are in the cupboard.”
Bettina had noticed the white dishes with a delicate, dark blue pattern around the edges. It was pretty, and she was ok with using it. She’d brought her own service as well, but she could keep that for private use.
“That’s fine with me,” she said. “But I’m not planning on serving the guests dinner. I’m going for breakfast, and some cookies in the afternoon.”
“I beg your pardon? No dinner?” Mathilde was speechless and put down her embroidery in confusion.
Bettina felt her heart drop at the thought of having to serve the guests dinner every day. Why hadn’t they discussed this before she decided to move in? Perhaps the move hadn’t been thought through enough. After all, it had been rather spontaneous. It backfired now that it became clear not everything had been considered.
“I’m planning to serve a three-course dinner.” Mathilde pursed her lips, and Bettina could sense her discontent.
Flemming stepped in. “We’ll figure it out. As long as you’re lying here, dear Mathilde, Bettina will do as she pleases. When you decide to get up, you can make as much dinner for the guests as you want.”
Bettina was relieved. She could live with that, especially since no one knew when her aunt planned on getting out of that bed. She would take it one problem at a time.
When her parents left the next day, Bettina started making a plan for the guest rooms. She wanted to name them after the flowers she remembered from the garden. They would be called Windflower, Hepatica, Harebell, Lily of the valley, Daisy, and Lavender. The colors on the walls would reflect the flowers, and not only be white. There was enough white around the house already. The guests didn’t want to be checking into a hospital.
Her bedroom would be painted light blue, her favorite color, and Anneli chose purple. She loved painting pictures and decided to turn a storage room on the third floor into a workroom. It had a window facing the garden, providing light. She wanted to paint large pictures of flowers, one for each room. First, though, she’d take Anneli and go pick out beds and furniture for the bedrooms. And on the way home, they’d stop by the hardware store to buy paint and equipment.
“Let’s get some ice cream at the bakery I told you about,” she suggested.
Anneli was on board right away. Ice cream was her favorite.
They parked the car on a side street and walked into the pastel-colored bakery.
“Wow, this is amazing.”
“Isn’t it? That’s what I was trying to tell you.” Bettina went over to the cake counter and looked at the treats. The most beautiful cakes were lined up one after the other, and it smelled sweet and welcoming.
“Nice to hear,” said a cute woman from behind the counter. “Are you new in town?”
It dawned on Bettina that she would buy baked goods here. She didn’t know to what extent, she would have to work that out.
“Yes, we are. I’m going to open a guesthouse in Solvik.”
“Oh, that’s you? Here in town, most people know each other. I’m Sara Dahlby.” She extended her hand and smiled.
“Bettina Hoff, and this is my daughter, Anneli. We’d like to try the barley bread and a six-grain bread. And a couple of those tempting cinnamon buns over there.” She pointed at a basket on the counter.
“When will you be opening the guesthouse?” Sara asked with a curious look while wrapping up the goods.
“Hard to say. There’s lots of work still to be done. My uncle was supposed to do it, but he suddenly passed away.”
“I heard about that. What a tragic accident. I’m so sorry for your loss.” Sara went over to the ice cream counter where Anneli was waiting patiently.
“Thanks.” She followed her daughter and thought of Herman again. “Yes, it was awful.”
Anneli picked pistachio, and Bettina chose raspberry sorbet, before paying. “Nice meeting you. I’ll be a frequent customer here. Can’t let the guests go hungry, you know.”
Sara laughed. “No, you’d better not. There’s a knitting café every other Sunday. Maybe you’d like to join an
d get to know some people in town? It’s at Café Solside in a week and a half, seven o’clock.”
Bettina grabbed the bags. “That sounds like fun, but I don’t know how to knit. Acrylic painting is more my thing.”
“No worries. I can bring knitting needles and yarn. It’s easy to learn.”
“How kind of you. I’ll see if I can get away from the decorating.”
They said goodbye and walked toward the car. “What a delightful woman.”
“And what ice cream,” Anneli said. “Try mine, Mom.” She offered Bettina some.
“Delicious. We’ll have the cinnamon buns for lunch. And then we’ll buy groceries on the way home, to fill up the fridge. We’d better get going if we want to get some painting done.”
They were wearing old clothes to paint in and started on the Hepatica room that they were going to paint sky blue. All of a sudden, they heard a deafening noise.
The paintbrush slipped out of Anneli’s hand and hit the floor with a splash. Paint went everywhere. “What was that, Mom?”
Startled, Bettina put down her brush. “I’ve no idea. It sounded like a ship’s bell, one of those massive ones. It must be Mathilde. I’ll go and have a look.”
She hurried up the stairs. She hadn’t seen her aunt much, except when she went up to ask about something.
“What happened?”
“Happened? Don’t know what you’re talking about.” Mathilde sat in her bed, embroidering, and seemed unaffected. “I’m hungry and would like some lunch now. A hard-boiled egg and a slice of dark bread with smoked salmon. And some grapefruit juice. Yes, and a cup of chamomile tea, of course.”
Bettina couldn’t believe her ears. She’d assumed that Mathilde was using her own small kitchen, but she had also been wondering how she was able to get groceries if she stayed in bed all day. Was it her responsibility to feed her as well? In that case, the coming days would indeed be busy. She felt slightly annoyed and was about to correct her, but changed her mind. Mathilde had complained about back pain, so this was presumably just temporary.
Time for New Beginnings Page 3
