forefront of his mind; and hers. She had never felt this way before. She was twenty three but still a virgin. In fact, sadly this had been her first proper kiss. She once again reflected over her lonely existence and her approach to life to date, devoid of any significant relationships other than with her books. It had been a lovely day and maybe they had both been overtaken by the romantic surroundings, the news about the tablet and the rune-stone. In any event, she felt some level of triumph that her reluctant feelings for Paul were not completely unanswered. And his reaction to pull back must mean that he genuinely valued her intellect, she thought to herself.
As soon as they entered the house, Erik’s mother came towards them, wearing red high heels and a white trouser suit, smiling widely and smelling strongly of perfume, her blond hair tied back in a knot. She was still a good looking woman. Life had been kind to her, it seemed.
“There you are, you two! What do you say about a nice three course dinner here tonight to celebrate that permission has been given to use cameras inside the wall?” she said looking only at Paul. When she finally turned to look at Emma it was with an obvious dislike of Emma’s fashion sense. Her facial expression seemed to ask: ‘What were you thinking?’ God knows why she would care about appearances out there, Emma thought.
“Sounds lovely to me”, Paul said and Emma nodded in agreement.
“Let’s hope Erik is back for seven.”
▪ ▪ ▪
As it turned out, Erik arrived just as they were about to start eating. As he came in the room, Emma was amazed by the fact that they had already had two whole bottles of wine between them. She was starting to feel the effects, not used to drinking this much alcohol. They were all sitting down at the four meter long table in the grandiose dining room conversing. Erik took a seat at the end of the table, with his father and mother on either side. Emma was sitting next to his father and Paul next to his mother. Emma had no doubt that Erik’s mother was an experienced hostess and had carefully arranged their seating and the menu for the evening. She had already informed them that they could expect a genuine Swedish ensemble. According to Erik’s father the main course dish was their house keeper’s specialty and the only reason to why he agreed to stay in the house once in a while. Even so, Emma was feeling apprehensive about that one. Although Erik’s father was perfectly charming to sit next to, Emma was uncomfortable by what was going on at the other side of the table. Erik’s mother appeared to be almost flirting with Paul. Emma found this highly inappropriate, not only because her husband was sitting opposite her but also because Paul was merely a few years older than her son. She decided to ignore her manners towards Paul, concluding that this might be the way she normally approached people.
Emma had made a special effort that evening to look smart, not wanting to repeat the earlier degrading stare from Erik’s mother. She was wearing a light blue summery dress, accentuating her figure, which she had got from a university friend who had wanted to get rid of it after having lost too much weight, together with a matching necklace she had bought in Camden market. Having brought the dress not expecting to wear it during her brief stay in Sweden, she was now glad she had. Not only did it seem to satisfy Erik’s mother, it had also attracted some approving glances from Paul. She felt herself almost blushing every time he looked her way. She couldn’t help thinking about their earlier kiss. This had to stop, she thought. She tried to focus on Erik and his father. She had to admit that she had a good time. They were both funny in a laid back sort of way, making her laugh repeatedly. This was somewhat at odds with her character; normally when she was out she would get stuck in a corner with some nerd talking politics. Her university
As soon as they entered the house, Erik’s mother came towards them, wearing red high heels and a white trouser suit, smiling widely and smelling strongly of perfume, her blond hair tied back in a knot. She was still a good looking woman. Life had been kind to her, it seemed.
“There you are, you two! What do you say about a nice three course dinner here tonight to celebrate that permission has been given to use cameras inside the wall?” she said looking only at Paul. When she finally turned to look at Emma it was with an obvious dislike of Emma’s fashion sense. Her facial expression seemed to ask: ‘What were you thinking?’ God knows why she would care about appearances out there, Emma thought.
“Sounds lovely to me”, Paul said and Emma nodded in agreement.
“Let’s hope Erik is back for seven.”
▪ ▪ ▪
As it turned out, Erik arrived just as they were about to start eating. As he came in the room, Emma was amazed by the fact that they had already had two whole bottles of wine between them. She was starting to feel the effects, not used to drinking this much alcohol. They were all sitting down at the four meter long table in the grandiose dining room conversing. Erik took a seat at the end of the table, with his father and mother on either side. Emma was sitting next to his father and Paul next to his mother. Emma had no doubt that Erik’s mother was an experienced hostess and had carefully arranged their seating and the menu for the evening. She had already informed them that they could expect a genuine Swedish ensemble. According to Erik’s father the main course dish was their house keeper’s specialty and the only reason to why he agreed to stay in the house once in a while. Even so, Emma was feeling apprehensive about that one. Although Erik’s father was perfectly charming to sit next to, Emma was uncomfortable by what was going on at the other side of the table. Erik’s mother appeared to be almost flirting with Paul. Emma found this highly inappropriate, not only because her husband was sitting opposite her but also because Paul was merely a few years older than her son. She decided to ignore her manners towards Paul, concluding that this might be the way she normally approached people.
Emma had made a special effort that evening to look smart, not wanting to repeat the earlier degrading stare from Erik’s mother. She was wearing a light blue summery dress, accentuating her figure, which she had got from a university friend who had wanted to get rid of it after having lost too much weight, together with a matching necklace she had bought in Camden market. Having brought the dress not expecting to wear it during her brief stay in Sweden, she was now glad she had. Not only did it seem to satisfy Erik’s mother, it had also attracted some approving glances from Paul. She felt herself almost blushing every time he looked her way. She couldn’t help thinking about their earlier kiss. This had to stop, she thought. She tried to focus on Erik and his father. She had to admit that she had a good time. They were both funny in a laid back sort of way, making her laugh repeatedly. This was somewhat at odds with her character; normally when she was out she would get stuck in a corner with some nerd talking politics. Her university
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