CRASHING OUT

THOUGHTS, PLOTS, WISHES Chapter 2

As Agnetha finally got the chance to relax and enjoy the journey North to Newcastle, a certain person who remained in her thoughts constantly had not long previously completed a journey of his own. Bjorn Ulvaeus, once her ABBA bandmate had returned to his home country of Sweden from his adopted home in England. He'd been back in Sweden for a couple of days, taking time to see his family and spending time with his children Linda, now 10, Christian approaching his 6th birthday and his youngest, Emma, just over 18 months old. Bjorn relished these opportunities for family time, the hectic ABBA years were now behind him and he was finally able to make good on a promise he'd made to his wife, that from now on family would forever take first precedence over work commitments, a promise he fully intended to keep, he was all too aware of how the endless hard work during the ABBA period had cost him something and someone very special to him. Bjorn had always regretted the split with Agnetha, if he was ever to tell the truth about her to anyone, he would reveal that he loved her still, that she was very much the love of his life. But, he knew all too well the troubles she was having with the Swedish media, the gossip press constantly speculating about her imagined love life, groundless rumours, complete fantasy but as Bjorn knew all too well, they hurt her nonetheless. One of the main reasons for his presence here was to meet her when she arrived back in Sweden, for that purpose he'd driven his family to her home town of Jonkoping, she had no idea he'd be there, he'd deliberately kept it secret from her, wanting to surprise her and to see the look on that beautiful face when she noticed him. A smile crossed his face as he imagined her reaction, he knew exactly how she'd react and it would be priceless, she'd wrap her arms around him, no doubt kiss him and for as long as she could hold onto him. He smiled again and nodded his head gently "And that my precious girl, will make all the journey worthwhile! Just to see your face and get a hug and a kiss!" he laughed to himself as he busied himself in the holiday rental cottage he'd found just outside town, picking up some of the mess left behind by the children who were currently with their Great Grandparents, allowing him some free time to relax. It was a small, yet lovely cottage, comfortable with a small garden at the back and above all else it was very private, far from prying eyes and local gossip. The last thing he or Agnetha needed was to once again become the subject of idle gossip or newspaper headlines, he smiled again as he imagined the reaction to his presence here should the media ever discover it "Oh they'd have a field day! Just imagine the days worth of stories they could write if ever they found out what we know! Or if I got spotted here! ABBA stars in steamy affair! Bjorn cheats with Agnetha! Mamma Mia they're at it again!" he laughed at his own humour, it was indeed very funny to think that way for a while, but deep down he knew full well that the press would hound them constantly if they discovered he was here, if word ever leaked of his true feelings for her and this was why the private cottage was the perfect choice for a reunion with her. He paused for a moment to check in on his youngest Daughter Emma and to his great joy she was sleeping soundly in her cot, at just over 18 months old it wasn't always easy to get her to sleep, especially as at this particular time she was missing her Mother, who was away on business. Bjorn stopped to watch over her for a moment and allowed himself to think of the excitement in Emma's eyes when she saw her Mum coming back home, it made him smile, the little girl missed her Mother and her gentle ways. Tiptoeing out of the room he softly pulled the door over, being careful not to disturb Emma and went to the small kitchen and made himself a cup of coffee. He checked his watch and nodded to himself, by now Agnetha was clear of London and hopefully enjoying some quiet time alone. Bjorn had been both angry and concerned when he learned that Stig had allowed Brita Ahman to travel part of the journey home on Agnetha's coach, he'd weighed Ahman up the moment he'd met her. Instantly he saw through her false niceties, her feigned friendship, he could tell immediately what she was wanting and friendship had nothing to do with it! She was quite clearly one of a number of what Bjorn described as "Gutter press!" she was intent on peddling all kinds of trashy, completely untrue material about Agnetha, she would stoop as low as she could possibly get in her endless search for gossip, tittle tattle and innuendo. He knew that for the duration of their journey together Agnetha would be subjected to the usual endless series of prying questions about an alleged love affair, sex with her lover and all kinds of utter rubbish. Ahman had attempted to probe him before, never wanting to leave a stone unturned she'd focused on him the previous year during ABBA's 10year anniversary. As ever her questions focused on Agnetha and her private life "So Bjorn. Does Agnetha ever see your wife? Or as I suspect do they hate each other?" her eyes sparkled and she licked her lips, anticipating some juicy titbit to thrill her readers and editor with, Bjorn had sighed loudly "Brita, I've told you before. Agnetha and my wife are very close. They are very much alike, more than people realise. They are best friends" Ahman had thought for a moment, puzzled by his unflappability, but then a smirk appeared across her face "Well, that being the case and I suppose I have to take your word for it, what about your little girl? Now everyone knows Agnetha loves children, so can I assume that she is terribly jealous of the new Daughter? That she resents her? Wishes it was hers?" Ahman was beside herself with joy, excited, she'd finally got to ask a question she'd been saving for such a moment. She could already see the headlines, of papers across the globe asking for her article and so she stood, waiting, smiling at Bjorn in a sickly fashion. Bjorn however was not going to play her games, he shook his head and fixed her with a stare "You could not be further from the truth or more wrong if you tried! Brita, you claim to know everything about Agnetha, so how could you not know how she'd feel about a new baby? Agnetha loves Emma, really loves her. She loves all children and as far as Emma is concerned she considers her part of our extended family. She doesn't have a jealous bone in her body. You'll have to dig up different rubbish to that I'm afraid!" He smiled at the memory of the crushing disappointment on Ahman's face, how she'd trudged away deflated and for a moment he allowed himself to laugh. If Ahman or anyone else for that matter discovered just how much love there was between Agnetha and little Emma, they'd be shocked and left wondering about things and if equally they ever discovered the truth about the relationship between Agnetha and his wife, there would be headlines everywhere and the peaceful life they'd engineered this last few years would be shattered. He smiled again and sipped his coffee "And if anyone learned about the man in your life Agnetha, they'd faint with shock! Best we keep all of this to ourselves!" Amused by his own thoughts he continued about his day, looking forward to seeing Agnetha when she got here, eagerly awaiting some quality time with family, not forgetting his wife! On the coach back in the UK, Agnetha had finally been able to relax, at long last the ordeal with Ahman was over and she'd managed to avoid revealing anything she didn't want to, keeping everything about her life every bit as private as she wanted to. She could see the anger in Ahman's eyes as she left the coach, she'd pushed with all of her might to try and wheedle some kind of information from Agnetha, some kind of confirmation about her latest man, some intimate detail of life with her alleged lover. But thanks to her own calm, cool demeanour Agnetha had successfully steered her away from all of her most private details, there was no way any good would come of Ahman discovering the name and identity of the man in Agnetha's life, she would blaze it across papers everywhere and everyone involved would suffer the consequences. The journey was peaceful now and she settled back to relax as the coach made it's way North. She dug into her handbag and pulled out a pile of papers she'd been carrying with her, some notes, some letters and some children's drawings. She looked at the drawing from Christian and marvelled again at just how clever he was, Linda likewise was bright and her drawing reflected her, bright, joyful and full of loving thoughts. The last drawing had been given to her by none other than Emma. It was truthfully a series of doodles, scribbles and general mess! And yet the kisses placed on it at the bottom revealed just how much love the little girl had in her heart and as ever Agnetha was touched by the fact that the little child had done this drawing for her, she pledged to give each of the kids a warm hug and a sweet kiss when she saw them and for a moment smiled at the thought. One note she read eagerly, for the umpteenth time came from Bjorn. He'd wished her well with her trip, expressed his concern about the company of Brita Ahman and as ever signed it with his love. It made her heart leap and race every time she read it "Hmmm, the feeling is mutual Bjorn, just so you know!" she talked quietly to the note as she tucked it away, she'd kiss him too when she saw him, of course this would need to be in private, Heaven forbid anyone saw them, or worse still snapped a picture of them sharing a kiss! Stopping at a Service Station to stretch their legs, change drivers and fuel up with diesel, Agnetha took a brief walk into the dining area and sat at a table, quietly eating the pack of sandwiches she had bought at the counter, she didn't want to eat too heavily with a long journey ahead as well as a ferry ride of some 19 hours. As she relaxed some small children came over and stared, she was instantly recognisable and a smile from her encouraged them to ask for an autograph which she gladly signed. Moments like these were the acceptable side of being famous and she'd never refuse anyone, least of all a child. But as she re boarded the coach for the next leg of her journey to Newcastle, back in Sweden the much less pleasant side of fame was about to rear it's ugly head. two unprincipled, vile, unpleasant people were putting the finishing touches to a plot that revolved around her. Lena Kallersjo and he lover Tomas Sonnenfeld were two distinctly unpleasant people. They wanted to live the high life, parties, drugs, champagne and spent every Krona and Ore of their combined incomes, he as a Doctor, she as a publicist, partying, sniffing cocaine, getting wasted on drink and indulging in all kinds of perverse behaviour, orgies, sex parties and the like. Finances were becoming stretched, Tomas was on his last warning at his latest Hospital after arriving drunk, Lena had been sacked for vomiting over a client after a wild weekend. They had looked on with growing resentment as the Swedish media reported endlessly about the money, the fortunes accrued by the four ABBA members and in their seething resentment and jealousy, they began to hatch a scheme to get their hands on at least some of that vast fortune. Lena had sneered at a newspaper article about Agnetha "Seems to me that she has it all. Too fucking much! I think we may have our target. Her and that wanker Bjorn! He turned me down stone flat, fucking twice! Shit faced little twat! We'll get some of their money babe! Fuck knows, they can afford it!" Tomas smirked, he'd been thinking the same thing "Great minds think alike! I was thinking about targeting them! let me check around, see what I can find out in medical records" he paused for a moment and laughed, an evil laugh that would terrify anyone who heard it "What a good job you got to know the coach driver and sucked his cock! Now we know when she's likely to be coming through Jonkoping. All we need to do is get in place, wait and BANG! The coach will be ours to do with as we please. Once we get her into hospital, I can check her records and see what we can blackmail her and that shit Bjorn with! Fuck me this is going to be so fucking cool!"....