by Billy London
Niels glanced briefly at Stella, who simply nodded. “Five minutes. Go on.”
Their children rushed out back into their mother’s house, leaving the two adults inside the vehicle. The silence threatened to suffocate them, forcing Stella to intervene. “What time’s the flight to Denmark?”
“Midday, or thereabouts,” he answered. “I thought the boys could stay with me, so there wouldn’t be a scramble for things. Is that all right?”
“No, no, of course. Not like I have a choice. It’s court approved, isn’t it?”
Niels rested his head against the steering wheel. “For helvede. I can’t argue about this with you anymore. If you don’t want me to go, we won’t go.”
I didn’t want you to go without me! “And make me the bad guy? No, thank you. I just said a fact, I wasn’t having a go.”
He turned his head from the wheel to look at her. “Indeed? I didn’t think you’d miss the opportunity.”
“You just looked after me and two kids, sick, for three days. Take things with a fucking pinch of salt. God.”
“You’re not the easiest of patients,” he reminded her.
She wanted to reach out and stroke his hair. Tell him he’d done such a good job. That she hadn’t even dreamed how good of a father he’d be to their children. How much she missed being under his care. “I’m not used to being incapacitated, you know that.”
“All too well.”
Stella leaned forward, her arms wrapped around herself and inhaled the scent of Niels on the jumper he’d stuffed her into. “I should go in. Make sure they don’t set the house on fire.”
“One of your better ideas,” he answered.
She opened the door and paused. “Thank you. For looking after us all.”
He caught her back briefly, his hand warm through the fibres of the jumper. “Whatever you need. I’m here.”
“Are you, though?”
“Always.”
His actions the last few days proved his statement in a thousand ways. He stroked his hand over her arm to catch her hand and brush his mouth over her knuckles. “If you feel ill again, let me know.”
Without saying anything else, she got out of the car. Just when she’d reached a stage of acceptance, he confused her. Made promises he’d inevitably keep, when she knew she couldn’t rely on him. To do so would mean the rug would be pulled from under her feet.
God only knew how she’d get back up a second time.
Chapter Eight
A glance out of the window made Stella close her eyes in weariness. Niels’ mother. She’d seen a text message from the ex about his mother and rather than reading it, she’d simply deleted it. She didn’t want to know.
Alwine Strøm had never been a fan of Stella. According to her, Niels worked himself into a state to provide everything Stella wanted, only to eventually turn him away and leave him with no choice, but to form his own family without her. Stella called fundamental bullshit on that. Of course her precious golden-haired son couldn’t do any wrong.
The one good thing Stella had done in Alwine’s eyes was to give Niels not one, but two sons. Her grandchildren were insanely beautiful things, with hair bordering on blond and midnight blue eyes in creamy coffee skin. They were charming, delightful, and the apple of their grandmother’s eyes.
Shame about their mother.
Stella braced herself and allowed her former mother-in-law into the house. The boys came chasing in, leaping on Stella with kisses and rambling tales of their time with their father.
“Good evening, Stella,” Alwine said formally. “How are you?”
The older woman turned her cheek slightly for a kiss and Stella grudgingly obliged on both. “I’m well, thank you. My darlings, can you take your bags to the laundry room?”
Will and Danny did as they were told. Stella shoved her hands into her jeans pockets, looking at Alwine expectantly. “Is there something I can get you?”
“A coffee would be nice, thank you,” she murmured, stepping around Stella into the house. Come in, Stella mocked silently, closing the door and heading into the kitchen.
“Remind me how you take it?”
“Milk and one sugar, please.”
“Fine. Do you want to go into the living room and I’ll bring you the drink?”
“No, I can come with you.”
Stella quickly turned on the coffee maker and set up a new filter, even though the woman didn’t deserve it. “How was everything? I thought Niels was going to drop them off?”
“Niels had to deal with some sort of crisis. He’s still in Denmark.”
Stella’s eyebrows lifted. “Oh? Must be serious.” Actually, she was really irritated that he hadn’t called her and told her that his mother would be dropping off the boys. He knew she hated being on the back foot.
“I’d have no idea about it.” Alwine dismissed her words with a brief wave of her hand, easing herself onto a chair by the centre bar. “I wanted to talk to you.”
That could never bode well. “What’s the problem?”
Alwine paused as Stella placed a cup of coffee in front of her. She hadn’t seen that Stella had put three heaped tablespoons of coffee granules into the machine. The cup would have her former mother-in-law bouncing off the walls for the next year.
“The boys’ birthday is coming up soon,” Alwine began, taking a sip of her drink. Her face paled immediately and she started to cough.
“Too strong?” Stella asked innocently.
“You and I don’t have to be friends,” Alwine retorted angrily, “but we can respect each other as mothers.”
“I let you in my house and you are drinking my rather expensive Kenyan coffee. What more do you want?”
“For the fighting to stop. All this can’t drag on for years and years.”
“I’m not dragging anything. I’ve said what I want and it’s your son who isn’t seeing it the same way. Talk to him.”
“I have. But I’m talking to you as well. The boys want to go to Disneyland for their birthday and I wanted to ask you to let Niels take them.”
IS THIS BITCH FOR REAL? “For someone who wants the fighting to stop, you’ve got a funny way of showing it,” Stella said softly. “How dare you come here and make demands on me? Make promises to my children, excluding me from their birthday and it’s not even a milestone and expect me to just what? Agree? They’ve been to Disneyland before. They’re not going again. They are not going to use this situation that your precious prince caused to their advantage. I’ve told them no. Their father told them no. You advocating on their behalf like I’m some terrible mother is doing nothing for our relationship. Now if you’ve finished your coffee, you may leave.”
Alwine got to her feet, immediately protesting, “That’s not the way it is. Stella, why do you have to be so stubborn? You know William and Daniel are upset about the divorce. Why not try and make things better?”
“A holiday to fucking Disneyland isn’t going to do that,” Stella snapped. “I didn’t do any of this. Niels did.”
“And what have you done to stop it? Try to keep your family together? I’ve seen no effort from you. You’re willing to let everything go over pride. I thought you loved my son.”
“You’re appealing to the wrong person. Have a look at the petition. It’s not me. It’s him.”
Alwine’s eyes filled with tears. “You’re not blameless in this, you know. It takes two to break up a marriage. And talking to you now, I understand. And I don’t see how Niels is at fault.”
“Your son isn’t the Messiah,” Stella retorted. “He’s the naughty boy that gave up on ten years. Twelve, if you count our relationship before. So…have a nice flight back. You can see yourself out.”
She turned into the kitchen and closed the door. Vaguely hearing the murmur of conversation as Alwine said goodbye to the twins, Stella snatched up her phone and rang Niels. He answered on the third ring.
“Stella, is everything all right?”
“You,”
she hissed, her voice trembling with such rage, “set your mother on me. You can’t fight your own battles, you’ve got to hide behind your mother? What. The. Hellish. Fuck. Is. Wrong. With. You?”
“Start again as if I wasn’t privy to a conversation you’ve just had from where I am across the continent,” Niels drawled.
“Your mother came barging into my home—no, that’s not debatable, it’s my home—and demanded that I let you take the twins to Disneyland for their birthday.” There was silence on the other line. “Did you hear me?”
“I heard you, Stella,” he replied. “I will call you back.”
He ended the call before she could say anything else, leaving her holding the kitchen phone at a complete loss. What did that mean? The boys came barrelling into the kitchen, both talking over each other.
“Do you want some hot chocolate before bed?” she asked them, desperate for a distraction that didn’t involve looking into their Niels’-cloned faces.
“Yes, please,” they chorused.
“Muma, you should have seen it,” Danny began, chatting over his brother. “We went fishing and swimming and we stayed in this cabin…”
“I thought you stayed with your grandparents?”
Will glanced at his brother. “I told you Muma wasn’t listening. Dad got us a cabin by the sea. We saw Nana and Grandpa yesterday. Then Dad got a call about work and he did that worried face, you know that face he makes when he sees the bills, and then Nana took us to the airport and we got to lie down on the flight and then we came home.”
And then bitch Stella comes along and tells him to stay out of her business. Fair enough, Alwine had no right to make demands on her children, but Niels wasn’t the sort of man whose mother did the fighting for him. It was one of the many things that stung her during the divorce. Not once did Alwine call her to give her even the briefest word of comfort. But now it seemed to be a free-for-all and Stella could jump however high Alwine wanted her to.
The phone rang just as Stella placed the marshmallow topped mugs in front of her sons. “Take it to the living room and sit quietly for a moment, please? That’s your dad.”
They agreed and left the room for her to answer the call. “Niels?”
“Stella, I can only apologise. I didn’t ask my mother to say anything to you.”
“So you’re not planning on whisking our children to a place they’ve been to—twice already—for a birthday we’ve yet to discuss?”
“Not at all. I told them no grand gestures for their birthday, especially since they’ve had two holidays this year.”
Now she felt infinitely foolish. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have a go at you like that. It’s not fair.”
“No it isn’t. There needs to be a time when you can control those knee-jerk reactions where you believe everything I do is motivated in taking the boys away from you.”
“That’s not what I meant!”
“Then why fly off the handle?” Stella heard some voices in the background. “Look, I have to go, but it wouldn’t hurt you to call my mother and apologise.”
Stella’s eyebrows nearly shot off her forehead. “You realise that’s not going to happen.”
“It should do. For the boys, if nothing else.”
“I apologised to you, isn’t that enough?”
“No,” he replied. “I’ll talk to you later.”
He ended the call, leaving her staring at the phone. Crap. And she hadn’t thanked Alwine for flying over with the boys in their father’s place. Picking up her mobile, she saw her ever-present ex-husband had sent her his mother’s mobile number. Dialling, she felt a sinking feeling, which worsened when a hoarse-sounding Alwine answered.
“Hi, Alwine, it’s Stella.”
“I don’t want to fight with you,” the older woman blurted, sounding tearful. “You don’t understand how difficult this has been for me and Niels’ father.”
“You’re right. I wouldn’t, because you haven’t told me,” Stella reminded her. “Look, I just called to say sorry. The boys are a touchy subject. And if you spoke to Niels, you’ll know that he’s told them no more holidays this year. Definitely not abroad and certainly not for their birthday. It’s taken us a while to be on the same page when it comes to the twins. So you making broad statements about what they want and when they should get it…you can’t do that, Alwine. It undermines both me and Niels. That’s all it is, and I was annoyed, but I’m sorry.”
“Thank you. I appreciate the apology,” she whispered.
“When is your flight back?”
“Tomorrow. I was going to stay in a hotel…”
“Don’t be silly. Come back here. I doubt after a flight I’d be able to get those two monsters to sleep any time soon. Come here, have a good sleep, something to eat and I’ll get a cab to drive you to the airport.”
“Are you sure?”
“I wouldn’t offer otherwise. I bought this amazing salted beef from the butcher around the corner from my salon. I can’t have it all myself.”
Alwine softened. “Well, thank you. That’s very kind of you, Stella.”
“Not to worry. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
Stella ended the call and sent Niels a text. Your mum’s staying the night. So there. I apologised very nicely.
In a few moments, she received a text message back. Thank you. You always surprise me with your generosity. Even when it’s not deserved. Xx
Kisses? Cheeky bastard. Although putting his mother up for the night did warrant kisses. Putting his mother up for the night warranted a whole lot of things that as an ex, Stella wasn’t entitled to any more.
When Alwine arrived back, Stella had a rum-filled hot chocolate for her and a salt beef open sandwich. Alwine’s eyebrows retreated somewhere into outer space. With a shrug Stella explained that Niels told her years ago that salt beef was Alwine’s favourite. It was always a treat in the house if Niels’ family enjoyed one or four.
“You know, no one’s made me smørrebrød in such a long time,” Alwine sighed in delight, devouring the sandwiches. “It’s delicious. I didn’t think you knew…”
“Anything about Danish food?” Stella concluded. “When I wasn’t being an abysmal wife to your son, he’d guide me around the kitchen.”
Guide… Sometimes, irrevocably smack. Mostly fondled her at any given opportunity. “That’s one of the nicer things about being with someone from a different culture to you.”
“He said you liked to eat,” Alwine admitted, cradling her hot chocolate. “He talks about you. Frequently.”
Stella cleared her throat. “Complaining, no doubt?”
“No…”
She didn’t really want to hear it. “Why didn’t you call me?”
Alwine bit down on her bottom lip. “You know I was in a difficult position…”
“I’ve been part of your family for the better part of a decade. I had your first grandchildren. When your mother died, I flew with Niels to Copenhagen. For you. While I was six months pregnant. Your son decides to leave me and you can’t even call me to ask me if I’m all right?”
“You’re point-scoring,” Alwine chided.
“No, I’m upset. I know he’s your son, but didn’t I deserve a call? Was I so disappointing to you as a daughter-in-law, I didn’t even warrant a little bit of compassion?”
Her mother-in-law threw up her hands in dismay. “I didn’t know what to say to you!”
“Sorry?”
“I thought he was making a mistake!” Alwine blurted. They were both silent for a moment. The older woman took a large gulp of her hot chocolate and choked. “Goodness, how much alcohol did you put in this?”
“Only a little bit,” Stella said petulantly.
Alwine placed her mug down and pushed it into the middle of the table. “I’m sorry, Stella. I thought you had your own family to support you and the last person you’d want to hear from is me. I’ve never heard him say a cross word about you. Even when I saw him and the twins before we arr
ived in London, he said that he wished you were there.”
Stella pressed her fingers to her eyes, in the hope it would stop her body from having such an instant and depressing reaction to her mother-in-law’s words. “I have a divorce petition that says otherwise.”
Alwine reached across the bar and caught Stella’s hand. “You will always be part of my family. And whatever he says, I know Niels will always love you.”
“Thank you.” Stella’s voice cracked on the last word. “Would you like another hot chocolate?”
“Yes, please. Without the hot chocolate this time.”
Chapter Nine
Dear Ms. Strøm,
Please find enclosed your Decree Absolute. This now brings your marriage to a formal end. If you so wish, you may now revert to your maiden name, Danquah…
She’d known the letter had been waiting for her. The boys were upstairs, finally asleep, and she had the time to sit with it alone in her living room. The wine tasted sour on her tongue, as the document that ended ten years of her life lay on her coffee table, burned into her brain.
Her doorbell rang and she sprang to answer it, not even stopping to think who it could be. It didn’t surprise her that Niels stood on the other side of the door.
“Can I come in?”
“Still your house, so why not?” she retorted.
Standing to the side, she allowed him inside and watched him shrug his cardigan from his shoulders. On anyone else, the garment would have looked affected and far too metrosexual. But it suited him. Gave him a casual elegance she would ultimately miss.
“What are you drinking?” he asked lightly, folding the cardigan onto the arm of the sofa.
“That Cab Sav you were saving.”
“My fifteen-year red?”
“Yup.”
He sent her a devilish smile. “I should add that to my assets.”
“You don’t have many left,” she warned him. “Been drinking my way through most of it.” She disappeared into the kitchen and reached for a glass for him, her hand shaking. Unsure what emotion caused the trembling in her limbs, she took several breaths before returning to the living room. Niels, sprawled across the sofa, sat up slightly to take the glass from her and poured the ruby rich liquid in a generous helping.