shape.’
His warm smile belied his words, and Erica knew that whoever was running the Karlsson household, it certainly wasn’t Dan.
She gave him a quick hug and settled down on the black leather sofa. She too put her feet up on the glass coffee-table, feeling quite at home. They watched the news on channel 4 for a while in cosy silence, and Erica wondered, not for the first time, whether she and Dan could have had a life like this together.
Dan was her first great love and boyfriend. They were together all through high school and had been inseparable for three years. But they wanted different things out of life. Dan wanted to stay in Fjällbacka and work as a fisherman like his father and grandfather before him, while Erica could hardly wait to move away from the little town. She had always felt she was being asphyxiated here; for her the future lay elsewhere.
They had tried to stay together for a while, with Dan back in Fjällbacka and Erica in Göteborg, but their lives went in totally different directions. After a painful break-up, they had slowly managed to build a friendship that almost fifteen years later was still strong and close.
Pernilla came into Dan’s life like a warm and comforting embrace when he was trying to get used to the idea that he and Erica had no future together. Pernilla was there when he most needed her, and she adored him in a way that filled part of the emptiness Erica had left behind. For Erica it had been a painful experience to see him with someone else, but she gradually realized that it was bound to happen sooner or later. Life went on.
Now Dan and Pernilla had three daughters together, and Erica thought that over the years they had built up a warm love for each other, even though she sometimes thought she noticed a restlessness in Dan.
At first it had not been entirely friction-free for Erica and Dan to continue their friendship. Pernilla had jealously watched over him, regarding Erica with deep suspicion. Slowly but surely Erica had managed to convince Pernilla that she wasn’t after her husband, and even though they never became best friends, they had a relaxed and warm relationship with each other. Not least because the girls obviously adored Erica. She was even Lisen’s godmother.
‘Dinner is served.’
Dan and Erica got up from their slouched position and went to the kitchen, where Pernilla had placed a steaming casserole on the table. Only two places were set, and Dan raised his eyebrows quizzically.
‘I ate with the kids. Go ahead and eat while I put them to bed.’
Erica felt ashamed that Pernilla had gone to so much trouble for her sake, but Dan shrugged his shoulders and began nonchalantly shovelling down an enormous serving of what turned out to be a rich fish stew.
‘How have you been, anyway? We haven’t seen you in weeks.’
His tone was concerned rather than accusatory, but Erica still felt a pang of guilty conscience that she had been so poor at keeping in touch recently. There had just been so much else to think about.
‘Well, things are getting better. But now it looks as though there’ll be a row over the house,’ said Erica.
‘What do you mean?’ Dan looked up from his plate in surprise. ‘You and Anna both love that house; you should be able to reach an agreement.’
‘Sure, we can. But you forget that Lucas is involved too. He smells money and probably can’t stand to miss such an opportunity. He’s never paid any attention to Anna’s opinion before, and I don’t understand why it should be any different this time.’
‘Damn it, if I could only get hold of him some dark night, he wouldn’t be so bloody cocky afterwards.’
He pounded his fist emphatically on the table and Erica didn’t doubt for a moment that he could give Lucas a real thrashing if he wanted. Dan had been powerfully built even in his teens, and the hard work on the fishing boat had built up his muscles even more, but a gentleness in his eyes belied his tough image.
His warm smile belied his words, and Erica knew that whoever was running the Karlsson household, it certainly wasn’t Dan.
She gave him a quick hug and settled down on the black leather sofa. She too put her feet up on the glass coffee-table, feeling quite at home. They watched the news on channel 4 for a while in cosy silence, and Erica wondered, not for the first time, whether she and Dan could have had a life like this together.
Dan was her first great love and boyfriend. They were together all through high school and had been inseparable for three years. But they wanted different things out of life. Dan wanted to stay in Fjällbacka and work as a fisherman like his father and grandfather before him, while Erica could hardly wait to move away from the little town. She had always felt she was being asphyxiated here; for her the future lay elsewhere.
They had tried to stay together for a while, with Dan back in Fjällbacka and Erica in Göteborg, but their lives went in totally different directions. After a painful break-up, they had slowly managed to build a friendship that almost fifteen years later was still strong and close.
Pernilla came into Dan’s life like a warm and comforting embrace when he was trying to get used to the idea that he and Erica had no future together. Pernilla was there when he most needed her, and she adored him in a way that filled part of the emptiness Erica had left behind. For Erica it had been a painful experience to see him with someone else, but she gradually realized that it was bound to happen sooner or later. Life went on.
Now Dan and Pernilla had three daughters together, and Erica thought that over the years they had built up a warm love for each other, even though she sometimes thought she noticed a restlessness in Dan.
At first it had not been entirely friction-free for Erica and Dan to continue their friendship. Pernilla had jealously watched over him, regarding Erica with deep suspicion. Slowly but surely Erica had managed to convince Pernilla that she wasn’t after her husband, and even though they never became best friends, they had a relaxed and warm relationship with each other. Not least because the girls obviously adored Erica. She was even Lisen’s godmother.
‘Dinner is served.’
Dan and Erica got up from their slouched position and went to the kitchen, where Pernilla had placed a steaming casserole on the table. Only two places were set, and Dan raised his eyebrows quizzically.
‘I ate with the kids. Go ahead and eat while I put them to bed.’
Erica felt ashamed that Pernilla had gone to so much trouble for her sake, but Dan shrugged his shoulders and began nonchalantly shovelling down an enormous serving of what turned out to be a rich fish stew.
‘How have you been, anyway? We haven’t seen you in weeks.’
His tone was concerned rather than accusatory, but Erica still felt a pang of guilty conscience that she had been so poor at keeping in touch recently. There had just been so much else to think about.
‘Well, things are getting better. But now it looks as though there’ll be a row over the house,’ said Erica.
‘What do you mean?’ Dan looked up from his plate in surprise. ‘You and Anna both love that house; you should be able to reach an agreement.’
‘Sure, we can. But you forget that Lucas is involved too. He smells money and probably can’t stand to miss such an opportunity. He’s never paid any attention to Anna’s opinion before, and I don’t understand why it should be any different this time.’
‘Damn it, if I could only get hold of him some dark night, he wouldn’t be so bloody cocky afterwards.’
He pounded his fist emphatically on the table and Erica didn’t doubt for a moment that he could give Lucas a real thrashing if he wanted. Dan had been powerfully built even in his teens, and the hard work on the fishing boat had built up his muscles even more, but a gentleness in his eyes belied his tough image.
Similar Books
