by Karin Fossum
But it was probably the best one she had. An almost completely black picture with a very bright stripe slanting across the canvas. As if it had been torn in two. She couldn’t help smiling a little at the thought of Maja’s face when she entered carrying this. Then she continued searching in her bag, discovered a packet containing just one cigarette, lit it and peered in the fridge. It was nearly empty. Butter, ketchup and a bottle of soya oil were all that was left. She sighed, then suddenly remembered the wad of money and smiled once more. What she needed now was an ice-cold beer. So, she threw on some clothes, heaved her coat on to her shoulders and trudged purposefully off to the small shop on the corner. Omar’s opened at eight in the morning, what a blessing he was. Nor did he look askance, even when people were buying beer before anyone else was up. His shop stood in that venerable district of detached houses like some strange bird, to the considerable consternation of many, but to Eva’s delight.
His teeth showed chalky white with enthusiasm when she entered his shop. She pulled a couple of half-litre bottles of beer from a crate, grabbed a newspaper and forty Prince Mild.
‘A very good day today!’ he smiled encouragingly.
‘Perhaps it will be in a while,’ Eva groaned, ‘but not just at the moment.’
‘Well, I know it will be a good day. But two bottles is not a lot if the day turns out bad.’
‘You know, I think you’re right,’ Eva said. She fetched another bottle, and paid.
‘Ah, I think I’ve got an account here, too,’ she remembered, ‘I’ll pay that as well.’
‘A very good day for me also!’
He rifled through the shoebox where he kept all his credit records. ‘Seven hundred and fifty-two.’
Eva was moved. He’d never mentioned it. She handed him a thousand-kroner note and glanced down at the mail order catalogue he’d been leafing through. ‘Anything exciting there?’
‘Oh yes, this here, I’m buying for my wife. Coming in the post in two weeks.’
Eva peered down. ‘What is it?’
‘Burl remover. Good for jumpers and sofa cushions and furniture. There are no burls in my country. You have strange materials here.’
‘I like burls,’ Eva said. ‘They make me think of old teddy bears. The teddy I had when I was young had lots of burls.’
‘Yes, yes,’ he sparkled. ‘Happy memory. But in my country there are no teddy bears also.’
*
The beer was tepid. She laid one bottle under running cold water, then searched the telephone book for Maja’s number. Just to mention that she must forget all the drunken talk from the previous evening, she hadn’t been in full possession of her faculties. The phone was dead. Of course, they’d disconnected it. She cursed softly, went to the bathroom and sat on the loo with her skirt pulled up round her waist. Well, today I certainly look like a whore, she thought, perhaps that’s what I am really, perhaps it’s a good day to begin. She finished, stepped out of her skirt and got into her dressing gown again. She went out into the passage and stood in front of the hall mirror, where she could see herself from top to toe. Just for a look, she thought.
Eva was 1.83 metres tall and most of it was leg. Her face was thin and pale, her eyes golden, not dark enough to be considered brown. Her shoulders were narrow, she possessed an unusually long neck and long arms with slender wrists. Her feet were large, size forty-one, it was enough to make one weep. Her body was thin, a bit angular and not especially feminine, but her eyes were fine, at least Jostein had always said so. Large and a little slanted, they were set well apart. A judicious makeover would have worked wonders, but she’d never understood that kind of thing. Her hair just hung there, long and dark with a slight hint of red in it. She bent closer. The hair on her upper lip had begun to grow. Perhaps her oestrogen level had begun to sink, she thought. The dressing gown slid open, she pulled it aside so that she could see her small breasts, her long lithe abdomen and thighs, which were as pale as her face. She gave a trial wiggle and tossed her head slightly making her hair fan out. If Maja can become a millionaire with that round little body, I certainly can with this! she thought wickedly. And she pictured the bundle of notes once more, thought about where they’d come from and shook her head, as if she couldn’t properly grasp what had happened, just last night. She did up her dressing gown again and retrieved the bottle from the sink. She wouldn’t think about it at all, she’d do it. Nobody needed to know anything. Just for a while, perhaps until Christmas, just to build up her finances. She drank some beer and felt her nerves subside. I haven’t really changed, she mused, merely discovered a new side to myself. She drank and smoked and daydreamed about her own small gallery which would be down by the river, preferably on the north side. Gallery Magnus. That sounded rather good. A sudden inspiration made her consider whether she ought to introduce a colour into her pictures. Deep red. Quite a thin line in the first picture, almost invisible, and gradually a bit more. She felt enormously inspired. Afterwards, she opened another bottle and thought that this was what had been missing from her life. Maja had been missing! But now she’d returned. Everything’s going to work out, she thought contentedly, this is a turning point. When all the bottles were empty, she fell asleep.
The taxi tooted outside at six o’clock.
Eva had wrapped the picture in an old blanket and the driver laid it carefully in the boot. ‘Drive carefully, please,’ she begged, ‘it’s worth ten thousand kroner.’
She gave the address in Tordenskioldsgate and all at once she had the feeling that he was staring at her in the mirror. Perhaps he knew Maja. Perhaps every other man in the street had been in her bed. She brushed a bit of fluff off her skirt and realised she was nervous, the high from the beer was almost all gone, and reality was returning. But it was strange how, when Emma was away so long, she almost seemed to pack away her whole maternal role in some drawer and just revert to being Eva. That’s who I am now, she thought, I’m Eva. I’m not taking any notice of what others think, I’ll do what I like. She smiled to herself. The driver noticed it and smiled back in the mirror. Don’t get any ideas, she thought, I don’t come gratis, you know.
Chapter 19
MAJA OPENED HER arms wide and led her in. The previous day’s excesses hadn’t left a mark on the round face.
‘Come in, Eva. You’ve brought the picture!’
‘You’ll probably faint.’
‘I never faint.’
They unwrapped the picture and leant it up against the wall.
‘Crikey!’ Maja was dumbstruck. She studied the picture minutely. ‘Well, I’ll say this, it is a bit different. Has it got a title?’
‘No, you must be joking.’
‘Why?’
‘Because I’d be dictating what you should see, and I don’t want to do that. You must look at it yourself, and tell me what you see. Then I’ll respond.’
Maja had a good think, and finally decided. ‘It’s a lightning strike. That’s what it is.’
‘Well, not bad. I see what you mean, but I see other things as well. The ground opening during an earthquake. Or the river flowing through the town at night, in moonlight. Or glowing lava pouring down a charred slope. Tomorrow you might see something else. Anyway, that was what I was aiming for. You must try to rid yourself of your preconceptions about art, Maja.’
‘I’m sticking to the lightning strike. I don’t like things changing and turning into something else. And now it’s you who’s got to rid yourself of preconceptions, my girl. I’ve got the spare room ready, you must come and see. Have you eaten?’
‘Only drunk.’
‘You’re worse than a baby, you’ve got to be fed. Could you manage to chew on your own if I make you a sandwich?’
She drew Eva into the flat, into the spare room. It was a dark room with lots of reds, plushes and velvets and thick curtains. The bed was huge. It was adorned with a gold-fringed counterpane. The floor was covered in thick red and black carpet which felt springy under their feet as they walk
ed.
‘These are your colours,’ Maja said emphatically. ‘And I’ve a red dressing gown for you that’s easy to open. Made of thin velvet. In here’ – she went to the far end of the room and pulled a curtain aside – ‘is a small bathroom with a basin and shower.’
Eva peered inside.
‘You can work here while I’m at the refuge. I’ve had another key made. Come on, you’ve got to eat.’
‘Have you done all this today?’
‘Yes. What have you done?’
‘Slept.’
‘Then you’ll be able to work late.’
‘Oh, God, I’m just not sure – if I really do dare, I thought one might be enough, the first time. Maja,’ she said fretfully, ‘are there lots of ghastly types?’
‘No, no.’
‘But occasionally someone says something disgusting, or does something nasty …?’
‘No.’
‘But aren’t you afraid? Alone with strange men, night after night?’
‘They’re the ones who are afraid, who’ve got bad consciences. In the first place, they’ve had to tell a whopping great lie to get away, then they’ve had to take money from the housekeeping to pay the bill. Going to a prostitute nowadays is terribly daunting. In the old days you weren’t a real man if you didn’t visit a brothel. Oh no, I’m never afraid. I’m a professional.’
Eva bit into the sandwich and chewed slowly. Tuna with lemon and mayonnaise. ‘Do they sometimes ask you to do special things?’
‘No, very rarely. They get the information they need from the jungle telegraph before their first visit.’ She opened a Coke and took a long drink. ‘They know I’m a proper prostitute and that certain sexual kinks are off limits. Almost everyone who comes here is a regular, and they know me. They know the rules and how far they can stretch them. If they start being silly, they won’t be allowed back, and that’s not a chance they’re willing to take.’ She finished with a small belch.
‘Are they drunk?’
‘Oh yes, but only slightly. They’ve often had a couple. Many of them come straight from the pub down the road, the King’s Arms. But others come at lunchtime, in suits and carrying attaché cases.’
‘Do they ever refuse to pay?’
‘Never known it happen.’
‘Has anyone ever hit you?’
‘Nope.’
‘I don’t know if I dare.’
‘Why should it be something you need to dare?’
‘Well, I don’t know – you hear so many tales.’
‘It’s when a man doesn’t get what he wants that he gets angry, isn’t it?’
‘Yes.’
‘They come here to buy something they need, and they get it. They have no reason to kick up a fuss. Is there anything wrong with going to bed with someone?’
‘Nothing. Apart from the fact that many of them must be married, with children and all that.’
‘Naturally, they’re the ones who come, they’re the ones who get too little. Married people don’t have sex with each other that often.’
‘Jostein and I did.’
‘Yes, to begin with perhaps. But how was it after ten years?’
Eva blushed.
‘Or,’ Maja continued, ‘do you think we girls ought to kind of save ourselves up for the love of our lives, that sort of thing? Do you believe in the love of your life, Eva?’
‘Of course not.’ She drank some Coke. ‘Have any of them fallen in love with you?’
‘Oh yes. Especially the young ones. I think it’s really sweet, and I make a bit of an extra effort for them. Last spring for example quite a young man came along, he had a really fantastic name, he was of Spanish and French extraction. Jean Lucas Cordoba. Have you ever heard anything with such a ring to it? Just imagine being called that,’ she said pensively. ‘Almost worth marrying just for the name, isn’t it? And then there was Gøran of course, I’ll never forget him. He was a virgin, so I had to give him some guidance about certain things. Afterwards he was very moved and grateful. It’s not easy being a virgin when you’re twenty-five and a police officer to boot. It must have needed a huge amount of courage to come here.’
Eva had finished her sandwich. She emptied her glass and brushed the hair away from her face. ‘Do you talk about anything?’
‘We exchange a few words. They’re the same clichés every time, roughly what I think they want to hear. They really aren’t very demanding, Eva, you’ll soon find that out.’
She put down the bottle.
‘It’s now ten to seven, and the first one is due at eight. He’s been here before, he’s actually rather a surly type, but he’ll be finished quickly. I’ll attend to him and say that there are two of us who’ll share the clients. And that we’re in the same line of business. Then they’ll know what to expect, and you’ll get the same kind of customers as me.’
‘I wish I could hide in the wardrobe and watch you secretly,’ Eva sighed. ‘See how you go about it. The most difficult thing is finding something to say.’
‘There’s not much room in the wardrobe. You’d see better through a door that was slightly ajar.’
‘What?’
‘Well, you couldn’t exactly stand at the foot of the bed, but you could watch from the other room. We’ll turn off the light and open the door a fraction, then you can sit in there and look in. Then you’ll get some idea. You know me, I’ve never been shy.’
‘God, I could do with a drink, I’m all shaky.’
Maja made a pistol with two fingers and shot her in the forehead. ‘Don’t even think about it! Stimulants on the job are forbidden. That’s when things start to go wrong, Eva. But afterwards we’ll go to Hannah’s and eat. I promise you one thing: when you start earning money you really begin to get a taste for it. Whenever I want something, I just put my hand into a bowl and lift out a wad of notes. I’ve got money all over the place, in drawers and cupboards, in the bathroom, in the kitchen, crammed into boots and shoes, I hardly know where it all is any more.’
Eva had turned pale. ‘Surely you haven’t got two million floating around the flat, have you?’
‘No, no. Only what I need for pocket money. The bulk of it is hidden away in the holiday cabin.’
‘The holiday cabin?’
‘Dad’s cabin. He died some time ago, so it’s my cabin now. You went there once, don’t you remember, a gang of us girls went on a trip? Up on the Hardanger Plateau?’
‘Your father’s dead?’
‘Yes, four years ago. I dare say you can guess what got him in the end.’
Eva politely refrained from replying. ‘Just imagine if someone broke in.’
‘It’s well hidden. No one would think of looking there. And paper money is fairly flat, it doesn’t take up much room. I can’t exactly put it in the bank.’
‘Money isn’t everything,’ Eva said knowingly. ‘Perhaps you’ll die before you can enjoy it.’
‘Perhaps you’ll die before you’ve even lived,’ Maja countered. ‘But if I do happen to die all of a sudden, you are hereby nominated as my sole heir. I’d like you to have the money.’
‘Well, thanks. I think I need a shower,’ Eva said. ‘I’m sweating with fear.’
‘Go straight ahead. I’ll get out your dress. Has anyone told you that you look lovely in black?’
‘Thanks.’
‘It wasn’t a compliment. I just meant that you always seem to be wearing black!’
‘Oh,’ Eva said bashfully. ‘No, not that I can remember. Jostein couldn’t bear it.’
‘I can’t quite see what you’ve got against colours.’
‘They’re – distracting in a way.’
‘Distracting from what?’
‘From what’s really important.’
‘And that is …?’
‘All the other things.’
Maja sighed and cleared away the glasses and plates. ‘Artists certainly aren’t easy people.’
‘No,’ Eva giggled, ‘but somebody’s got to take
the trouble to emphasise the depths of existence. So that the rest of you have a surface to skate over.’
She went into the room that was to be hers and undressed. She heard Maja humming next door and the sound of clothes-hangers clicking. Maja’s room was green, with plenty of gold, and it made Eva think about her own black and white home; there was a world of difference between them.
The shower cabinet was tiny and had a large mirror as its back wall. It reflected her tall body, and she thought it looked strange, as if she’d already relinquished her proprietorial rights. Steam clouded the mirror. For an instant she looked young and sleek, with a pink tinge from the flowery curtain, then she vanished entirely.
‘I mustn’t think,’ she said to herself. ‘Just do what Maja tells me.’
She finished, dried herself and walked out into the room again, which seemed cool by comparison. Maja entered with something red over her arm, a dressing gown. Eva put it on.
‘Great. It’s just what you needed. Get yourself some red clothes, you look like a woman when you dress in red, rather than a beanpole. Can you do anything about your hair?’
‘No.’
‘OK. Then there’s just one little thing I need to show you. Lie down on the bed, Eva.’
‘What?’
‘Just do as I say, lie down on the bed.’
Eva hesitated, but then went to the bed and lay down in the middle of it.
‘No, out to the side, the right side, otherwise you’re lying on the join.’
Eva pulled herself over to the edge.
‘Move your right hand towards the floor.’
‘What?’
‘Drop your arm over the edge. And then on the side of the bed, can you feel something hard underneath the bedspread?’