Chapter 22 #4
Charlotte would likely be there for Leif long after Ella returned to her life in Boulder.
Even so, they could spend time together now; it’d be a shame not to enjoy it to its fullest. Picking up the foil packets, she brushed off the dirt and put them back on the tray.
She did her best to sound positive. “Good as new.” He looked at her with appreciation.
Her belly went warm as he held her gaze.
After Leif finished grilling, they filled their plates and sat side by side on his quilt.
They shared stories about their school days, marveling at how different they were.
Leif drove his boat to school, played bandy, which he described as a ball sport on ice, and learned to knit in third grade because it was mandatory.
Ella rode the bus to school, ditched PE whenever she could, and sketched clothes in a classroom with her art teacher, who insisted that Ella remain true to herself even if it meant staying outside the box.
“My art teacher encouraged my passion for art. She taught me that art tells a story and records history. It can help us process our emotions and even heal us to some extent. Plus it allows us to see the world differently and makes us more observant. It inspires.”
“Yeah, art definitely helped me deal with the pain and grief over my father’s death.
It’s like it kept me focused on the present, you know .
. . making things gave me something to do and some sense of control.
Plus, carving some of my father’s favorite creatures from Viking mythology, like eagles and wolves, helps me preserve his legacy.
My surname, Arnesen, comes from the old Norse word arn, which means ‘eagle,’” Leif said quietly and kissed her on the mouth.
“Maybe the bonfire will inspire designs for you. They’ll light it soon.
” He motioned toward Axel, who was throwing gasoline on the tower of wood.
“It’s going to be fantastic! I want to grab my camera and take some pictures. Be right back.” She kissed his cheek and stood to leave. She saw Mia and invited her to join them for Leif’s homemade butter cookies.
“I’d love to, but I can’t right now,” Mia answered. “Leif, I need your help hooking up the speakers to the stereo.”
As Ella unzipped Leif’s bag to grab her camera, Charlotte tapped her on the shoulder, saying coldly, “I’m surprised you’re here.” Ella noticed the bottle of vodka she held was one-third empty.
Ella flicked her brow. “Surprised?”
“Yes. Inger doesn’t care for tourists.”
Ella didn’t consider herself a tourist, exactly, since her family had owned the island home for decades—although honestly, she didn’t know what she was, and she thought it best not to provoke Charlotte, who had an angry glint in her eye.
“Well, it was nice of her to invite me. I’m having a great time,” Ella said cheerfully, trying to keep things light.
“You follow Leif around like a puppy dog,” Charlotte observed, and took another swig from the bottle.
What a jerk, Ella thought. Aloud, she said with a smile, “Leif’s been a good friend, introducing me to locals. Everyone here is so kind.” She gestured at Charlotte’s fitted blazer and low-cut blouse. “I like your outfit.”
Charlotte sneered. “What do you know about style, hippie cowgirl?”
Ella could have retorted that she was a designer, but she let it go. “Leif set aside some food for you.”
“I suppose you know that Inger only invited you here for laughs.”
Ella gritted her teeth and refused to take the bait. She closed the bag, her camera forgotten as she tried to come up with something nice and fairly neutral to say. “Well, I’m happy to be here.”
“Sure, just like you’re happy she nabbed your dinghy.”
Ella must have heard wrong. “What do you mean?”
“When you were at G?sholmen. She untied your dumb knot and set the dinghy free. Everyone knows, even Leif. How do you think he knew where to find you?”
Hurt avalanched through Ella; her stomach bottomed out while Charlotte smirked.
“Excuse me,” Ella said, and she rushed to the evergreens to find a quiet place to calm down.
Her eyes burned as she sank onto a boulder and chucked a pine cone hard against an evergreen tree.
She’d thought she could trust Leif. She remembered Mia saying that Leif’s loyalty lay with Inger and his chosen family.
How stupid of her to think they’d ever welcome an outsider like her.
If Mormor were there, she would shake her head and say, You’re a misfit and a dreamer. Ella put her head in her hands. She heard a cheer go through the crowd. Bonfire smoke blended with the smell of rubber and gasoline in the brisk evening air.
Ella eventually gathered herself and emerged from the trees to see dozens of people around the bonfire. Those flames should have seemed romantic, but Ella only saw furious red sparks darting toward the sky.
She walked briskly, and Axel fell in step beside her and flashed his pearly teeth. He held a jug filled with pink liquid in one hand and a stack of plastic cups in the other.
“Whoa, where you headed in such a hurry?” he said. “Try one of my drinks first!”
“No thanks.” She was already buzzed, and mixing anger with more booze was a terrible idea.
“Ah, come on,” he said, pouting. “You can’t leave Norway without trying a Combustible Ibsen.” As he poured the innocent-looking liquid into a cup, he asked, “Did you know you look like Julia Roberts?”
Ella said sardonically, “That’s a first. Listen, what I really want is to hear stories about Ringpynten. Do you happen to know anything about the cottage or my family?”
“Afraid not. I moved here from Bergen ten years ago to work for Erik. I miss Bergen. It has the best nightlife in all of Norway.” He pushed out his bottom lip and made another pouty face.
She sighed deeply in frustration. “No one seems to know anything—not the old sailmaker, nobody in Tvedestrand . . . I should’ve come to Norway over Fellesferie to meet all the summer residents who might’ve known my mom and Mormor, but I hadn’t even heard of it until I met Mia!”
Leif and Mia joined them, and Leif kissed Ella’s forehead. “There you are. Glad to see you’re having a good time.”
Finding out that he’d covered for Inger felt far worse than watching him kiss Charlotte, and Ella bit back the temptation to call him a jerk and traitor.
Mia pointed at the jug of Combustible Ibsen. “Beware!” she said with a snort. “That’s an Axel special: aquavit, Campari, and a dash of lemon bitters.”
Leif whispered to Ella, “Axel loves his aquavit, but it’s potent enough to burn barnacles off a boat. Be careful with it.”
Careful? She wasn’t a child! She reached for the cup and took a big swallow that made her eyes water. She smiled and held back a cough.
“When I get home, I’m going to put the Combustible Ibsen on the bar menu at work. But I’m changing the name to the Axel Special.”
Axel chuckled. “You do that, Hippie Chick.” He held up the jug to Mia and Leif. “Like some?”
“No thanks,” they said in unison.
“Meet us in ten and we’ll toast Inger,” Axel said. He gestured toward Mia in a way that suggested they were going to rally the crowd. Leif hooked his arm around Ella and she stiffened.
“Everything all right? You didn’t come back,” he said.
“I ran into Charlotte. She and I had an interesting talk.”
“Oh?”
“About Inger.” And you too, she almost said, but clenched her jaw instead.
“Are you OK?” His expression suggested he had no idea what she was trying to tell him.
No, she most definitely was not OK. In fact, she was furious at Leif for not telling her about the dinghy.
But no way would she give Inger or Charlotte the satisfaction of seeing her fighting with Leif, so she’d act as though everything was OK, even if she ground her teeth to nubs.
Besides, she was going back to Boulder soon and had no plans of returning to Lyng?r ever again.
Axel’s deep voice rang out: “Happy Birthday to lovely Inger!” He was standing with her on a granite shelf. Holding the jug of Combustible Ibsen in one hand, he hooked his other arm around her waist.
“We should join them,” Ella said with a stony expression.
She found a spot between two blond women and ignored Leif, silently fuming over his betrayal.
She finished off her Combustible Ibsen while listening to Axel’s short speech about Inger.
She was the best girlfriend in the entire world, with the biggest heart.
She was his rock and made him want to be a better man.
His loving words made Inger weepy, and she dabbed at her eyes with a pink paper napkin.
“Give me a break,” Ella grumbled.
Axel gave Inger a long kiss while the crowd cheered.
When he finished kissing her, Axel whooped.
Everyone sang “Happy Birthday” and then Mia handed out neat slices of cake on pink paper plates.
From the speakers, a Norwegian synth-pop band belted out an upbeat song, and everyone began dancing around the raging bonfire.
Harald grabbed Ella’s hand and twirled her around.
Forget Inger and Charlotte and Leif—she’d have a wonderful night without them.
So she danced until she was out of breath.
Locating the jug of Combustible Ibsen, she poured another cup and chugged it.
Soon enough, an alcohol fog settled over her and the ground seemed to tilt.
She sat down on a flat boulder, and that’s when she saw them: Charlotte was dancing around Leif, thrusting her hips at him and sticking her boobs under his nose.
He stood motionless, his expression unreadable.
Ella wondered if he’d lied to her about Charlotte.
She marched over to them and stopped in front of Leif.
“Hey, you.” He smiled warmly at Ella, with a sparkle in his eye, as if everything between them was great.
Didn’t he get it? A cozy love song started playing and couples began dancing slowly around the bonfire.
Charlotte snuggled up to Leif and tried to kiss him on the mouth, but he turned away.
She pushed out her bottom lip, muttering something under her breath before flopping on his quilt.
The romantic song dragged on as Leif pulled Ella into a hug. “Would you like to dance?”
She shrugged him off. “No thank you.” Leif’s gaze searched her face.
Charlotte hiccuped and said to no one in particular, “Leif sleeps with me.” She blew air kisses at Leif from the blanket.
Ella stiffened. She thought back to seeing them kiss in that bistro. Jealousy erupted, and booze loosened her tongue. Ella glared at him and whispered fiercely, “You’re such a liar.”
His head jerked back. “Liar?”
She raised her voice. “You knew all about it and didn’t tell me.” Partygoers started turning to watch them.
“I’m not following you and please—lower your voice.” Leif frowned at her.
Lower her voice—how dare he!
“The dinghy!” Ella yelled even louder. “Inger untied it. You knew.”
Leif blanched. “Who told you that?”
Charlotte cackled from Leif’s quilt.
Leif scowled at her and demanded, “You told her?”
“Mmm-hmm.” Charlotte rose clumsily from the quilt, swaying on her feet, and then lay her head against Leif’s bicep. “Kiss me—”
“What? No!” he said, his face twisting into a grimace.
“Why not?” Charlotte whined and rested her hand on Leif’s chest. “Why can’t you look at me the way you look at her?” She gestured toward Ella before kissing Leif’s cheek. “I love you. I’ve always loved you.” She looked longingly at Leif and began to sob.
Ella recognized all of Charlotte’s troublemaking, yet she also felt sympathy for her; she looked crushed by Leif’s rejection.
Mia came to her side and said quietly, “Charlotte loves being a drama queen and she hates to lose at anything. Don’t worry about it.”
Then Mia linked her arms with Charlotte and said, “Poor baby. Let’s get you some water,” consoling her while guiding her away.
Leif rubbed the back of his neck and looked at Ella with big, sorry eyes.
She wasn’t ready to forgive him. Tears blurred her vision as she stumbled away, and she tripped over Harald where he sat on the ground. “Watch out, you idiot!” she yelled at him.
“Sorry, buddy,” Leif said to Harald as he rubbed his shin.
“You’re really spreading around those apologies tonight, aren’t you?” Ella continued to cry and stumble, almost falling onto the rocks, but Leif caught her.
“I got you, Sunna,” he said as he righted her and kept hold of her wrist. She vomited.
“Come on, let’s get you home.” He draped his arm over her shoulders. Exhausted, she hung onto his arm and let him lead her to Skadi.
· · ·
A half hour later, Leif tied up at Ringpynten while Ella snored on the starboard bench.
Scooping her up, he stepped onto the dock.
She hadn’t spoken a word since they’d left the bonfire.
At least she hadn’t attempted to swim home; apparently, he was the lesser of the two evils.
He felt terrible for not telling her about Inger loosening the knot on the dinghy.
He wouldn’t blame her if she never spoke to him again.
Misery gnawed at him; he was getting attached to Ella, and she was leaving in a couple of weeks.
He didn’t want his heart to break. Truth was, it was too late.
He was already far too attached, and his heart was splintering.
In the cottage, he laid her on her warm, soft bed and drew the blanket to her chin.
He was bone-tired, and her bed looked inviting.
She was stunning, even if she was conked out and snoring.
As he smoothed her hair, longing tremored through him, and he realized with some disgust that he was lusting after this poor drunk woman. Best to head home.