by DMt. » Fri Dec 09, 2011 6:46 pm
*
Papa Olof and Mama Karin pull up outside the Olsson's apartment block, and toot the horn; after a few moments, Agnes and Elin emerge, holding hands, and walk shyly but determinedly up to the car. Olof is touched by the sight, and gives an involuntary “Aww...”, but Karin makes a sharp, equally involuntary intake of breath, and her face is carefully neutral as she gazes at Elin.
The girls wave at them both; Olof, after a warning glance at his wife, winds down the window and smiles at them as they approach. “Hey, Agnes”, he calls cheerily, “and this must be Elin, right? Hello there, nice to meet you.” He sticks a huge paw out of the window, which Elin shakes, saying, “Hi. Nice to meet you, too.”
She and Agnes, still holding hands, lean down to greet Mama Ahlberg also, but she is only a dark, still silhouette in the passenger seat; nonetheless Elin smiles at her and says hello, but she gets only a murmured acknowledgement of their existence.
Oh, well; I can't expect her to be too delighted about me, I suppose... Elin releases Olof's hand, and hugs Agnes goodnight. “See you in the morning”, she says, referring to their arrangement to meet before school and go in together, and Agnes says, “Yes. You're sure you're OK coming to ours first?” “Yours is closer to school”, Elin says, “it doesn't make sense for you to double back.” A quick kiss, and she walks back indoors, as Agnes climbs into the back seat, and waves to them all before going in.
“Hey Mama, Papa”, Agnes says, “you didn't have to come and get me, you know. I could have walked, it's not far.”
“It's nearly eleven, Agnes”, says Karin, “and you are still only sixteen...we wanted to.” She turns to look at Agnes, and bites back the chilly remark about Elin's age and make-up she had intended to make next. Her fiercely-private daughter is glowing with happiness, she tries to remember the last time she has looked like this, and instead she hears herself say softly, “She's very pretty, isn't she?”
“Yes, she is”, says Agnes, “and I love her to bits.”
“That's nice, darling”, says Olof, “I'm glad you've found a friend at last.”
“She's more than just a friend, Papa”, says Agnes, and after a brief but pregnant silence he replies, a little more quietly, “I'm just glad to see you so happy, love.”
“Thank you, Papa”, says Agnes, “that means a lot to me.”
“Well...I can't pretend I'm exactly thrilled, myself”, says Karin ruefully, sitting back in her seat, “but Papa is right, it's good to see you looking happy, even if...” she trails off, and Agnes says helpfully, “Even if it's not quite what you expected?”
“Yes, darling, that's right”, says Karin, turning once more to give her a quick smile, “but you know we love you, and it's your life.”
Agnes leans over the back seat, puts an arm around each of their shoulders, and kisses them both on the cheek.
“You know I love you, too”, she says, “or you should do, anyway.” After a moment she adds curiously, “You left Oskar on his own?”
“He's fast asleep”, says Olof, "and we'll only have been five minutes, round trip. It's...an important occasion, but we still didn't want to wake him up for it. He'll be fine.”
“As long as he doesn't wake up”, murmurs Karin, “but, yes, I wanted to be here too. Look, we're back now, anyway, so let's just not make too much noise going in.”
[This is wonderful...I was sure there was going to be a horrible scene. I'm so lucky...I hope Elin's Mama is as nice about it as Jessica was...but she's their Mama, so she probably will be.]
Agnes and Karin wait while Olof locks the car, and then, quite naturally, Agnes slips an arm around each of their waists, and they an arm each across their beautiful daughter's back, and the three of them take their time walking silently up the path to the front steps.
Last edited by
DMt. on Sun Dec 11, 2011 7:07 pm, edited 2 times in total.
"To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize" - Voltaire