Chapter 26 The Meltdown
The Meltdown
Rose
“The buttercream is all wrong,” I sobbed. “It’s terrible. I don’t know what to do.”
“I can whip it up myself if I have to,” Lars’s stepmother, Sanne, insisted. “Oh, sweetheart, don’t worry about that.”
We had a cake tasting at the bakery in Trondheim.
I loved American-style buttercream like my mother grew up with.
It was one of the few bits I had to have.
While Norwegians preferred a different, very Scandinavian style of cake, I refused to let that be the only option.
I didn’t much like almonds and Kransekake was not my idea of a good time.
I told Lars I wanted each at the wedding.
Somehow, this had been controversial, but I held my ground.
Thankfully, my hell-raising mother was on board and Sanne, born in America, stood firm.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I said.
“I’m not,” Sanne promised. “I have done much more ridiculous things for brides on wedding days.”
“She lives for this. Just let her,” Lars’s little sister Betty giggled.
“It will be okay. I promise,” Ingrid, my good friend and sister-in-law-to-be, said.
“Here it is!” My sister Frankie barged in with Lars’s Aunt, Queen Kiersten, and my mother in tow. “The veil has arrived.”
I clapped, finally happy about something.
After a quick dab of tears, I was ready to see the other thing I obsessed over.
The English had the best lacemaking on Earth so far as I was concerned.
As a British bride, I was going to wear a detailed, British-made veil even if I had to go with a Norwegian dress designer to appease my husband’s country.
Six months of work and tens of thousands of dollars went into this creation.
It had been delayed by a week due to last minute supply issues.
So, rather than travel on a plane with my sisters, it was shipped by air courier.
But, as my mother placed the box on the table, I noticed how banged up it was. Grabbing it, concerned, I flipped the box over and noted a big black spot. The cardboard was still moist.
“Oh no. Oh no, no, no!” I groaned.
Seven days before our wedding and here was the veil I’d been dreaming of! Unfortunately, I worried it had been damaged beyond repair already.
“They pack them well,” Sanne insisted. “It will be okay.”
I held my breath as Mum opened the box, unveiling the beautifully packed veil. Then, disaster struck as she and my sisters unfurled it from the box. While the top was perfect, the bottom was altogether a disaster. The delicate lace and netting were a terrible shade of grey—splotchy and awful.
I descended again into tears, horrified by this horrid oversight.
“We could dye it ombre,” Frankie offered, trying to help.
“That’s not helpful right now,” our oldest sister, Iona said.
“It’s all fucked. It’s all so fucked,” I sobbed, gripping onto Betty for dear life.
“It will be okay,” Ingrid said. “We will…. come up with something. We’ll get it out in the wash. it’s not that bad.”
It was that bad, though. I knew deep down the veil was destroyed beyond help.
As I sobbed into Betty’s shoulder, her half-brother appeared with his baby son in his arms. Confused, he asked, “Why the hell does that look fucked up?”
“Keir!” Ingrid said, jumping up. “Not helpful!”
“Why are you here?” His mother asked, annoyed.
“The baby is hungry,” Keir said. “And Ingrid said she wanted to be the one to feed him.”
“Here,” Ingrid beckoned. “My tits are on fire anyhow.”
“Ever the lady,” Betty teased her.
I expected no less from my outspoken friend. Somehow, she’d managed to pop out a baby and still look like a million bucks five minutes later. I hoped I’d have the same luck.
“Now, go! Shoo!” Sanne said, annoyed.
“We will fix it,” Mum said. “Trust me. I will have Natalie’s dresser look at it.”
She spoke of “Auntie Nat” as we called her, my mother’s partner-in-crime, and the British Queen. She was due to arrive tomorrow and would no doubt bring an entourage envied by all the other royal attendees.
“We have dressers that can help,” Queen Kiersten said, annoyed. “My sister’s people do not need to be involved. The Brits made this mess. We will clean it up.”
I watched Mum about to pipe up and remind Kiersten she was only Norwegian by marriage, but she thought better and piped down.
Mum largely planned the wedding between Lars’s aunt and uncle with the help of Sanne’s mother, a decorated wedding planner and Norwegian in her own right.
The family tree was complicated as Betty’s eldest brother; my fiancé was born to her father Peder and his first wife.
Sanne’s four boys were the product of her marriage to Kiersten and Natalie’s late brother Paul.
Betty was the product of her remarriage to Peder.
There were many royal kids in the mix. It could get very overwhelming at times with so many royal sisters- and brothers-in-law.
Ingrid tucked back in next to me, nursing the somewhat fussy Baby Paul. “We’ll fix it. If we could fix Alexandra’s dress the day of the wedding, we’ve got you, Rose.”
I swallowed hard, hoping that was true.
“Mit hjerte?” I heard.
Looking towards the entry, I spied Peder.
Sanne looked over, exchanging a glance that said it all—don’t fuck with us, now is not the time, and we have a situation.
It was the same thing my mother could telegraph to my father at any given time.
The difference was that Peder was far more perceptive than my always-loving, sometimes-bumbling father.
“What’s the problem?” Peder asked in Norwegian.
“It’s a long story,” Sanne answered. “Is Lars here now?”
He nodded, then turned to me. “He figured you might get a bite or something, Rose.”
“Great. I’ll…” I looked around.
“We’ve got it. Go!” Ingrid urged. “We will figure this out.”
“Yes, go get your man!” Betty laughed. “I.e., my idiot brother.”
I snickered and passed the others. Lars waited in the entry, staring down and slowly massaging his own shoulder. He was distracted and concerned. Knowing his dislike of being the centre of attention, I guessed he felt uneasy.
“Baby, you made it!” I said.
Lars turned, meeting my gaze. A smile that he saved only for me spread across his face. As I made it closer, he spotted something I forgot.
“Elskling, are you alright? Have you been crying?”
“I will be alright,” I wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my face in his chest. “I will be better now that you’re here. We had a bit of a wedding emergency.”
“I’m sorry. Is there something I could—”
“Can we just… I dunno…. grab some food and get out of here?”
Looking at the security guards, I knew that was a ridiculous notion. We’d be followed. It was too risky to send us out anywhere unprotected right now. This was the biggest thing to hit beautiful, quirky, sleepy Trondheim in ages.
“I am sure, yeah,” Lars agreed, giving me a quick kiss. “What are you in the mood for?”
I winced. “Burgers and a sunset?”
“Fine. Come on,” he said.
“Sir, what was that?” A protection officer asked.
“We’re just going to hop in the tender and—”
“That hasn’t been cleared, sir. Nor is it authorized.”
Lars set his jaw. “Well, then, I’d like to drive somewhere, so you’ll have to tail us.”
We skipped out in an SUV followed by a motorcade.
“So relaxing, I know,” Lars said, voice flat. “I’m sorry.”
I squeezed his hand. “It’s okay. The point is you’re here now and we’re about to get burgers. I’m famished.”
“Well, we cannot have that, can we?”
I blushed.
We drove north until we hit a seaside village during sunset. We dipped into a small roadside cafe and ordered food to-go. Lars and I entertained the staff momentarily. A couple of customers entered but were mostly polite and quiet.
A woman behind the counter asked, “Why did you come up here? Did you have nothing better to do?”
“It’s an adventure,” I answered.
“She demanded a burger. I remembered this place from sailing here. The burgers were great. She wants to watch the sunset.” Lars rubbed my back. “And I cannot blame her. It’s beautiful up here.”
“You picked the last good weekend,” an old woman chimed. “It will get so dreary soon. Just you wait! A new princess is a good omen, I think.”
I wasn’t sure I agreed with her, but I nodded politely.
After some more small talk—something I excelled at, but which haunted Lars—we finally departed.
“There’s a lookout,” Lars said. “Not too far up the coast. You’ll understand soon enough.”
I munched fries as he drove. I could only trust him.
“I just wanted to get away. There are so many people there—and more coming soon,” Lars said. “I only wanted you, elskling.”
I smiled. “Well, if you’re planning on fucking me in this thing—”
“No! God no! That is too risky—even for us!”
“Good. Because that’s the last thing I need on top of the day I already had. Everything went wrong.”
“I know what you mean.”
Lars pulled off on a scenic overlook. He engaged the brake, and we divvied our orders, taking in the setting sun.
“This is gorgeous,” I said. “It’s like the Hebrides but higher.”
“It’s beautiful,” Lars agreed. “And peaceful. I know this appeals to you far more than a busy city and too many people.”
I bit into the burger and nodded. It was juicy and terribly delicious.
“I don’t want to read too much into it, Lars, but I’m so hungry. Like, I’ve been famished all day.”
“Then, it is good time for you to eat.”
He wasn’t getting the reference. Either way, it was probably wishful thinking on my side of the fence. Lars smiled almost performatively, then his face dropped.
“I also… I need to tell you something, Rosalind. And I want you to know that I had no idea about this until today. I don’t even know where to begin and I worry… but… you have a right to know.”
I furrowed my brow, worried. “Baby, what is it? Tell me.”
“Today, Uncle Olav called me in. Cici was there. She explained that she cannot have children. She and Isak are out of options.”
“Oh my God, that’s awful,” I gasped. “There’s nothing—”
“No. And I think it’s best if you let her bring it up—not the other way.”
“Okay. So… what does this—”
“We will be producing the child that follows her—the heir,” Lars said. “If—and hopefully when—we wed, we will secure the line of succession. I know it’s not what you wanted…”
Lars continued, though my mind was anywhere but with him. It tuned into the surf breaking. I grounded myself with the white lacing hitting the rocks, pretending we were out on the water.
“No matter what you choose,” Lars said. “I love you. I will take full blame if you… if you can’t.”
His voice grew pitifully small, and tears welled in his eyes. I hated seeing him get so vulnerable. I knew it was hard, but I loved that he went there for me. It killed me that he thought I would just run off.
“I… I don’t have a choice, Lars.”
“You do,” Lars insisted. “Rose, you always have a choice. I… I watched my mother be tortured by the job. She hated it. It made her unstable and bitter. I know you remember watching my stepmom do the same with the British press—”
“I really don’t. I was a baby,” I said. “I only know what the residuals are. It’s not that. I can handle the press. My mother has for years. It’s… is that fair to put on a child? We discussed this. We didn’t even want them to have titles, Lars.”
“I didn’t know this would happen, my love.”
I wanted to cry, but couldn’t. I sat in shock.
“I know we said we wanted to try,” Lars said.
“But I think it’s better if we wait until you realize what you want and we can talk more about boundaries and the kids.
I know this is… a lot to accept. It was a bit much for me and I grew up in this world.
I didn’t have to move and learn a new language.
I know I promised you we’d be in Scotland and—”
I cut him off. “Stop. You don’t have to fill the space. I don’t need you to have all the answers, but I need time to think.”
“I know it is a lot.”
It was. It was more than a lot.