Chapter 12 #2
‘This is the Christianshavn Canal,’ Theo said a few minutes later.
As he’d said, it was like looking at a postcard of Copenhagen.
The buildings were like those in Nyhavn: the mix of tall, brightly coloured canal houses, tree-lined streets of cobbled stone and gabled roofs pointing up into the sky.
But where Nyhavn was busy with tourists, this part of the city was quieter.
They passed moored boats with tall masts, houseboats and even a few floating shops and cafés, but this part of the city was quiet and peaceful.
It was also absolutely stunning, and Milly immediately took out her phone to film some videos.
She should have taken more but was too busy living in the moment with Theo, enjoying the experience.
If that wasn’t hygge she didn’t know what was, and she felt a swell of pride that she’d maybe, just maybe, begun to understand the concept.
The world looked bright and beautiful against the cobalt-blue sky, and she felt instantly at peace, tuning in to that feeling.
‘It’s beautiful,’ she said, loving Theo’s grin as he watched her face.
Along the canal were giant buildings that had once been warehouses. They’d been converted into flats now, but with their large arched windows and small thin bricks that were so redolent of the city’s style, they were charming.
‘I’m glad you like it,’ Theo said. ‘But there’s still so much more to see.’
They ambled through more canals past sights such as Amalienborg, where the Danish royal family lived and the opera house and soon they were on their way back.
The food was mostly eaten, and they’d also opened the beers.
As they sat back and relaxed, winding their way to the dock, Milly felt a rush of contentment and she made a note in her book.
‘What is that thing?’ Theo asked playfully.
‘It’s a notebook.’
‘I know that, but what are you writing? You’ve been scribbling in it at odd times and it’s making me nervous.’
She debated whether to tell him or not, but she wasn’t quite ready.
She still had a lot to learn about the concept and how she wanted to apply it to her own life.
To understand what experiences and feelings she wanted to replicate and what actions she could take to feel more content, even in tough times, and especially when she returned home.
‘It’s just so I don’t forget some things; that’s all.’
Gratitude was another thing she was learning to really recognise and she suddenly turned to him, reaching out and resting her hand on his arm without thinking. ‘Theo?’
‘Yes?’ he replied a little nervously as he faced her.
‘I just wanted to say thank you. For this. It’s been … amazing.’
‘It’s not much, Milly,’ he replied, his cheeks turning pink. He glanced ahead, bashfully, which she found adorable.
‘No, it’s – it’s just really kind of you to think I’d like this and arrange it for me.’
Tom hadn’t done anything for her in a long time, even when she’d suggested they try planning date nights for each other so they weren’t just sitting at home watching TV and not speaking.
How had she ever thought their relationship didn’t have any red flags?
She’d been absolutely blind to them, blinkered by normality and her refusal to change anything about her life or even contemplate doing something … more.
As she looked at Theo, his hair messy as usual, his eyes pinned on her, she found herself moving closer.
Theo matched her, leaning in. The air seemed to crackle around them as the summer sun beat down on the back of her neck, the cool breeze fluttering her hair, Theo’s too.
His head tilted; she mirrored it. This was it!
This was the moment she’d been hoping for.
He did feel the same and was going to show it. They were about to kiss. About to …
Then someone screeched and lots of people started shouting.
Panic filled Milly for a second as they turned to see a boat worryingly close to them and where they hadn’t been paying attention, they were heading towards it too.
The couple in the other boat were still too busy making out to see what was happening and it was passers-by on the canal bank who were shouting warnings at them.
Theo leapt away and grabbed the steering wheel of the boat, guiding them back towards the centre.
He shouted something in Danish at the couple kissing, who were now beginning to realise something might be amiss. Theo shouted again in English.
‘Turn your wheel to the left!’
The young couple leapt apart and the man in the other boat did as he was told while his girlfriend buried her head in her hands in embarrassment.
Thanks to Theo’s instructions, the other boat turned away, avoiding a crash, but they passed each other with mere millimetres between them.
Milly could see the woman’s swollen lips and every blemish on her pink cheeks.
That had been close. Then she began to calm, realising that they’d been going so slowly, nothing bad would have really happened.
They might have ended up in the water at worst, but nothing like …
Once more she closed her eyes and pushed the dark thoughts away.
She’d worked hard to make sure that moment didn’t define her. She wouldn’t dwell on old feelings.
‘Sorry!’ the man shouted, and Theo held up a hand to show everything was fine. Milly hoped they paid more attention when it came to the one-way system or there would definitely be an accident and a lot more shouting than they’d just heard.
‘That was close,’ she said out loud this time, glancing at Theo to see what his reaction was.
His face was stern, and heat inched up Milly’s neck.
She’d hoped he’d be smiling, as she was trying to, to get them back to the moment they’d been in before.
Yes, that had been a little bit embarrassing, but they’d been about to kiss! Why had that happened just now?
‘Maybe no more beers,’ Theo said, a hint of his lopsided grin creeping in, but it didn’t quite meet his eyes.
‘That wasn’t just our fault. They went off course too.’
‘Yes, but I should have been paying attention.’
He didn’t look at her, and Milly sensed him withdrawing.
What had changed for him in the last few minutes to make him pull away?
Surely it wasn’t all just a bit of embarrassment at their near miss.
For her, if he now decided to continue with their kiss, or suddenly wanted to sweep her into his arms, she’d have quite happily gone with it for the rest of the journey, even if that meant bouncing off other boats like a bumper car.
But now she could sense a distance growing between them, a hole opening up and she had no idea why.
She moved back to the small picnic table and sipped from a bottle of water.
Minutes of heavy silence followed, and Milly concentrated on the feel of the breeze cooling her hot cheeks and the sounds of the birds in the air.
She counted the magpies, trying to recall the rhyme in her head: one for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl, four for a boy, five for silver, six for gold, seven for …
a secret never to be told. Did Theo have a secret?
It was a stupid rhyme and didn’t mean anything.
Still, her eyes roved to Theo of their own accord.
How could they have been so close mere moments ago and now he wouldn’t even look at her?
Her heart rate slowed and the flood of excitement his proximity had brought left her system.
She felt suddenly tired, and more than a little sad.