Voyage 2002

"Just a moment, Frida, just a moment," he panted in her ear. May 2002 / Frida

"New spirit has arrived."

"Exactly," he said, releasing her and grabbing the hem of the T-shirt of her sports outfit. "May I?"

She nodded and raised her arms. He pulled off her shirt and turned around her so he could unhook her bra. For a moment it was a strange idea that they were apparently at that point again.

"What a fantastic body you have," he said, putting his hands on her hips and his nose on her neck.

"Thank you," she replied, "but it's a little dirty right now. Can I please take a shower first?"

"No, you can't, because you're taking a bath," he muttered.

He chuckled and let go of her. For a moment, she didn't know if she should continue to undress now. The day before, there had only been one spot of her body left that he had not yet seen naked. Suddenly, she felt somewhat being watched, which was odd, of course, since they had been extremely close to going the whole way. She figured she shouldn't whine and took off her sports shorts, but at that moment Benny walked out of the bathroom. Nice. She could quickly take off her underpants and dive into the bathtub and pretend it was all normal. As she sat in the lovely warm water and relaxed, she heard Benny return. She looked up. He put a stool beside the tub and walked into the living room once more. With a tray in his hands, he returned.

"What have you got there?"

"Fruit," he said.

She got up and looked. There were all kinds of things. Mango, strawberries, blueberries, pears. All the things she loved. He sat down on the stool next to her and pricked a strawberry on the fork that was on the tray.

"Mmm," she said, tasting it. "Oh, my, how delicious!"

"Thank God, for that price," he said. "I would have been better off buying you a Porsche. Costs the same, lasts longer."

She burst out laughing and grabbed a few berries with her fingers. "Oh, fantastic! And I already have a car, so I'm really happy about this!"

"Good, then I guessed right."

"Where did you get this?" she asked. "It's really great!"

"I put that guy to work, that CEO who is ogling you."

"Henry?"

"Is that his name?" he asked, with a grimace. "I forgot."

She giggled again. "You do know! You just don't like him."

"Indeed," he said, feeding her a piece of mango. "He undresses you with his eyes! Sucker!"

"You just undressed me with your hands! Do you think that's okay, then?"

He raised his eyebrows. "As far as I know, I asked politely if I could. Besides, I've known you a long time. That's a big difference."

"Oh, so when Björn asks it, it's polite too?"

"Yes, certainly. Only then the answer will be 'no', but that doesn't mean it wasn't decent. That Henry is just drooling after you. 'Can I help you, miss Frida?'" he mimicked him in an upper-class British accent.

She grabbed a piece of mango and laughed at his imitation. She held the mango in front of his mouth and he took a bite.

"Well well, so they do make these fruits in such a way that they are edible! Wonderful."

Grinning, she shook her head. He had such a dry sense of humor and he was so down to earth. She couldn't remember ever seeing him act arrogantly. Never did he pretend to be better than he was. He saw himself as a normal guy who happened to make a lot of money because he was good at making music and was lucky enough to have met three people who complemented him perfectly. No fuss. Looking back at her time with Ruzzo, she saw the contrast. Although she had also been happy with Ruzzo, sometimes it had been a bit over the top. Occasionally they would organize dinners and it would all have to be done by protocol. The first few times her mouth had dropped open in surprise. What nonsense! But he was used to it and so were the people who came over. Over the years it had become a habit, but the dinners had never really become her hobby. She moved effortlessly among his friends and family and was respected, but did she really feel at home? With Ruzzo, certainly, but they did come from different worlds. He had no idea what it was like to have nothing. Nothing at all. To see a grandmother working up a sweat for you until late at night because you had to eat and needed clothes. Ruzzo and she had argued about it once. A mate of his had made a comment about 'paupers' and she had raised her eyebrows.