Little Things

Mamma och Pappa

"Pappa!" Göran knocked on the door of his father's office, he knew that he was composing music for his band Benny Andersson Orkester (BAO), but his father had authorized him to tell him when he arrived, although everyone knew that Benny's moments of inspiration were sacred. Not thirty seconds passed when Benny opened the door, meeting his youngest son. It had been forty-three years since he came into their lives in the autumn of 1980.

"Boy!" Benny exclaimed upon seeing him and they both shared a hug. "Come inside," he allowed him in. Göran entered the office, the piano was full of sheets with musical notes and lyrics with modifications, apparently his father was inspired and very productive.

Benny closed the door again behind him. He looked at his son, who was poring over his sheets. He looked a lot like his mother, that snub nose definitely didn't come from him. Plus, his green eyes, who else could they be from? And the truth is that he couldn't complain, he could see those features all day. In addition, of his children, he had Peter and Heléne who looked very similar to him, so he could give in genetically to this last offspring. "Have you made any progress?"

Göran interrupted his father's thoughts. "I'm making progress, yes..." he walked over to the piano and tried to pick up some sheets.

"Good!" Göran smiled. "Does that mean I can steal you for lunch?"

"I can always make time for lunch with my boy," Benny smiled and tapped his shoulder. "I'll call Mona to tell her I won't be going at noon today," he reported. "You have to tell me how it went in Melbourne," he added.

"I will," Göran nodded and went to the door. "I'll be outside answering some emails," he added before leaving. He looked at his Apple Watch, it was 11:30 a.m., so he had half an hour before leaving with his father.

The studio was a considerable size, cozy and vintage, but with a lot of advanced technology. A great ship. He went to the control center with Linn, the sound engineer, she was working with a Swedish band, so he took the opportunity and came over to see how they were progressing with the work.

Benny, for his part, sat down at the piano again and took his cell phone and dialed Mona. He waited a few seconds for it to ring and heard his wife's voice. "Hello!"

"Hello, Mona!" He said as he cleared his throat. "How are you today?" They hadn't spoken in that day, she was sleeping when he left the house in the morning.

"Does it matter to you?" She responded defensively.

Benny sighed aggressively and rolled his eyes. It couldn't be another meaningless fight. "I'm happy to hear you're well. I'm calling to inform you that I won't be going to lunch today." After the news, there was silence between the lines for a few long seconds. "Are you not even interested in knowing why?" Benny insisted on having a conversation.

"Sure, why?" She asked.

"Göran is back in Stockholm. I'll go have lunch with him."

"Okay." She said promptly.

"That was it, goodbye..." Benny waited a moment longer before hanging up the phone and so he finally did.

Benny left the office, cell phone and keys in hand. They had some coworking tables available, Göran worked there whenever he wanted, Ludvig —who is Mona's son— was also full time in there as did Peter from time to time. Since his son was not there, he went to the control room. "Hey kid. It's time..." Benny looked at his watch, catching everyone's attention.

"Don't take him yet, he's helping us with some arrangements," Vilma pleaded.

"We'll go to lunch," Benny responded. "And I have to come back before 2:00 p.m." he explained. She nodded and Göran stood up from the chair, closing his computer and taking the bag. "I'll wait for you in the car."