mouth twisted in a malicious grin.
‘You shouldn’t carry on like that, you little whore!’
Her shoulder hurt now and she finally managed to twist out of his grasp.
‘I’m sitting here peacefully and then you come along and start bothering me. And talking a lot of fucking shit! What the hell do you want from me?’
Once again she felt a hand on her shoulder, but this one belonged to someone else. She turned around and saw it was the man from the table behind who had come up to them.
‘Are you coming any time soon?’ he asked in a friendlyvoice, but a little urgently, as if she was part of his group and had only gone away for a little while.
Jennifer quickly let herself down from the tall stool. In passing she grabbed her handbag from the bar.
‘Gotta go now. Thanks for the beer,’ she said with a contemptuous smile.
* * *
Where could she have gone? If she was with strange people in another cabin, there was no point in searching for her. If she was on one of the upper decks, they must have passed each other in all the stairs and corridors. But what was she really up to? Everything had felt so good before, when she was sitting curled up in his lap, carrying on like all the others. Why had she just left, without giving the least hint of where? She had kissed him, damn it! Besides, she had hinted that they had a long evening ahead of them – together. Once again it felt as if she didn’t want him, that in reality she was looking for something else. But what? She didn’t seem particularly interested in any of the other guys in the group, even if she interested them.
Joakim had no idea how Jennifer functioned. They really didn’t know each other. They saw each other now and then, but not as often as he would like. He knew nothing about what life was like for her at home, about her family. That was the kind of thing she didn’t talk about. He had no idea what she did during the week either. Sure, she went to school, that much she had told him, but that didn’t seem to keep her from seeing him in the middle of the day if shewanted to. Did she have interests, did she play sport, what did she do when she wasn’t in school and wasn’t with him?
As he sat there thinking about their relationship – or whatever you wanted to call it – she was like a blank sheet of paper. He knew nothing about who she was or how she viewed things. On the other hand, she didn’t know much about him either.
They had met only about a month earlier, in August, when it was still summer and warm outside. They met on Götgatan, in front of the building at Ringen where she lived. Jennifer had been to the shop to redeem bottles and do some shopping. She told him that she put the groceries in the paper bag she’d brought the empty bottles in. Just as they were passing one another on the pavement, the bottom dropped out of the bag. He helped her gather up the groceries then ran to the 7-Eleven on the other side of the street to buy a new bag for her.
Completely unperturbed by people looking at them, she’d directed all of her attention at Joakim. He noticed that she had a way of laughing with her whole face, not just with her mouth, and her eyes sparkled at him until he was completely weak at the knees.
A few days later they ran into each other at McDonald’s, where they were sitting at separate tables. Jennifer caught sight of him and came up and asked if she could sit down at his table. She had been in a rowdy mood then, interested and talkative, and when they had finished eating she asked if he wanted to have a beer at one of the outdoor cafés on Medborgarplatsen. Taken by surprise by her direct manner, he agreed. They got drunk, and although he was much older, she was the one who tookthe initiative. Joakim felt free and a little wild in her company; she didn’t ask annoying questions and didn’t demand anything. She bubbled away and seemed to appreciate him as he was. Jennifer dragged him around to various places and after
‘You shouldn’t carry on like that, you little whore!’
Her shoulder hurt now and she finally managed to twist out of his grasp.
‘I’m sitting here peacefully and then you come along and start bothering me. And talking a lot of fucking shit! What the hell do you want from me?’
Once again she felt a hand on her shoulder, but this one belonged to someone else. She turned around and saw it was the man from the table behind who had come up to them.
‘Are you coming any time soon?’ he asked in a friendlyvoice, but a little urgently, as if she was part of his group and had only gone away for a little while.
Jennifer quickly let herself down from the tall stool. In passing she grabbed her handbag from the bar.
‘Gotta go now. Thanks for the beer,’ she said with a contemptuous smile.
* * *
Where could she have gone? If she was with strange people in another cabin, there was no point in searching for her. If she was on one of the upper decks, they must have passed each other in all the stairs and corridors. But what was she really up to? Everything had felt so good before, when she was sitting curled up in his lap, carrying on like all the others. Why had she just left, without giving the least hint of where? She had kissed him, damn it! Besides, she had hinted that they had a long evening ahead of them – together. Once again it felt as if she didn’t want him, that in reality she was looking for something else. But what? She didn’t seem particularly interested in any of the other guys in the group, even if she interested them.
Joakim had no idea how Jennifer functioned. They really didn’t know each other. They saw each other now and then, but not as often as he would like. He knew nothing about what life was like for her at home, about her family. That was the kind of thing she didn’t talk about. He had no idea what she did during the week either. Sure, she went to school, that much she had told him, but that didn’t seem to keep her from seeing him in the middle of the day if shewanted to. Did she have interests, did she play sport, what did she do when she wasn’t in school and wasn’t with him?
As he sat there thinking about their relationship – or whatever you wanted to call it – she was like a blank sheet of paper. He knew nothing about who she was or how she viewed things. On the other hand, she didn’t know much about him either.
They had met only about a month earlier, in August, when it was still summer and warm outside. They met on Götgatan, in front of the building at Ringen where she lived. Jennifer had been to the shop to redeem bottles and do some shopping. She told him that she put the groceries in the paper bag she’d brought the empty bottles in. Just as they were passing one another on the pavement, the bottom dropped out of the bag. He helped her gather up the groceries then ran to the 7-Eleven on the other side of the street to buy a new bag for her.
Completely unperturbed by people looking at them, she’d directed all of her attention at Joakim. He noticed that she had a way of laughing with her whole face, not just with her mouth, and her eyes sparkled at him until he was completely weak at the knees.
A few days later they ran into each other at McDonald’s, where they were sitting at separate tables. Jennifer caught sight of him and came up and asked if she could sit down at his table. She had been in a rowdy mood then, interested and talkative, and when they had finished eating she asked if he wanted to have a beer at one of the outdoor cafés on Medborgarplatsen. Taken by surprise by her direct manner, he agreed. They got drunk, and although he was much older, she was the one who tookthe initiative. Joakim felt free and a little wild in her company; she didn’t ask annoying questions and didn’t demand anything. She bubbled away and seemed to appreciate him as he was. Jennifer dragged him around to various places and after
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