I looked at Frida, panicking as I lost my train of thought. I rolled my eyes impatiently and wondered why after 50 years he still made me tongue tied and stupid. Frida was smiling at me and making "Go On" motions with her hands.
Somehow, he knew it was me though and I heard him say "Anna" like he was pleased to hear my voice. "Um, well um" I stuttered. "Hi" I heard the smile in his voice as he said "Hi little one. How are you?" Oh GOD I thought this is awful and I nearly put the phone down. I heard him shift forward in his seat and he said "No, No Anna. Don't put the phone down. Be calm" I pulled the phone away from my ear and glared at it. "How does he always know what I will do?" I whispered to Frida. She shrugged and giggled at my predicament. "Anna?" I heard him calling me on the phone and I put it back to my ear. "I know what you'll do because I still know you. I always will. It's really good to hear your voice" he says in a gentle tone. "It's been too long since I did hear it" he added. Frida was outright laughing now and I said "he heard me Frida" frowning at her. "Of course he did" she answered like it was obvious. This was a bad idea. "No Anna, it wasn't a terrible idea. You called me for a reason. Do you need me?" asked Bjorn. My mind focused on that last question and I wondered what he would say if I told him the truth. Instead I said "Stop reading my mind Bjorn, its annoying you know. This IS a terrible idea I don't know what possessed me!"
Frida sang out from the background "I did!! Hi darling Bjorn!" I heard him chuckle in my ear. "Ah!! Ok!!Hi Frida!!" he bellowed back right in my ear. "Good Lord!! I shouted back "should I leave you two to it??" Helpless laughter overtook us all and I wiped my eyes before saying "Bjorn, I'm so sorry. I get so nervous. I want to say if I can I'd like to try and sing the new songs. If I sound rubbish you won't release them will you?" There was a note of pleading in her voice that he couldn't resist. He was gentler than he could remember being in years "Anna, listen to me. You calling me is the bravest thing I've known for a while. I still have faith in you. I always did and I always will. Your voice will sound as amazing as it always has.." I opened my mouth to interrupt "Stop Anna, it will be fine and I promise you absolutely that if you sound anything less than you were we won't release it and it'll be a happy memory only for us four. I promise you faithfully" he repeated. I stood there not sure how to respond. "Ok" seemed so mundane considering the magnitude of what I had just agreed to do. "I'm scared" I admitted to Bjorn in a shaky voice. "I know you are but you'll have us three around you. We won't let anything happen to you, we're going to have fun" I relaxed a bit. He said "Do you have time to talk with me a while? I've been with Linda all day." "You have?" I squeaked with surprise "I'm so pleased, even at her age she misses her Papa" "It was lovely" Bjorn confided. "It was a surprise for both of us, I was driving home from a meeting at Slottsholmen and I saw her sat outside a cafe as I drove past and I stopped to say hello and it went from there" I smiled and I went over to the sofa and settled down. I felt a rare calm wash over me as I listened to his beloved familiar voice telling me all about his day with Linda. "Anna, you're not to be cross with Linda but she told me today" All semblance of calm disappeared immediately "She WHAT??" I yelled "she had no right!" I sobbed feeling utterly betrayed."she promised me she wouldn't tell you! She promised!!" Frida was looking increasingly alarmed. Bjorn raised his voice over my hysteria and said "Anna!! Baby! Calm DOWN. I made her tell me. If we are going to keep you safe I needed to know you had stalkers!! We need to make plans for security at the STUDIO in case either of them follow you there. How COULD you think I would be angry with you?? This isn't your FAULT!" He finished on a yell. I was still stuck on the "Anna, baby" "I'm sorry Bjorn" I apologised immediately "Don't be cross with me, I get scared and overreact nowadays" "Baby, I know" he said calmly. "I'm not cross, just concerned, very concerned" he amended. There it was again I thought. He hadn't called me baby for nearly 40 years. That was his nickname for me. What on earth was going on?
I couldn't deny though that his ability to cut through my worries and calm my anxieties like no one else could had not diminished with time and I sighed happily. I felt safe with him. I also felt immensely glad that it was only the stalkers he knew about. I was so glad I had misunderstood!
"So, I'm at Christian's at the moment. Linda and I came but she's gone to get the kids now. She's coming back here with them so I can see them all, I haven't seen them since Christmas and I missed you at Christmas too. It was the first time ever I haven't seen you on Christmas day. I didn't like it" he grumbled. My stupid heart swelled up as I listened to him "I'm sorry, my migraine was so bad and I didn't want to ruin everyone's day" I whispered Bjorn smiled to himself. Still protecting him she was. He knew damn well now that Lena was her migraine.
"One day soon" he said quietly "I'm going to come to Ekero and see you" I immediately panicked "You can't, oh you can't do that it's too dangerous! I can't let you do that, no, no NO! I won't have you in danger" Bjorn shushed her carefully. Her reaction made his heart full. "Anna, baby nothing will happen to me. Frida is there isn't she and nothing has happened to her. Isn't Ekero the safest place to be? It's safer at the moment than the studios. We haven't ramped up the security yet there. Christian tells me about all the new security you have at your home. I'll be fine. Nothing will happen" he repeated. "I want to see you, you're safe and happy at Ekero so I will come there. Nothing will happen to me, or Emma or Anna." He looked up at Christian and was alarmed to see tears in Christian's eyes, he put his hand over the phone and said "What's wrong?? Have I said something wrong?? he worried "God! No Papa. You always know the right thing to say to Mama. I'm so happy. I wish Linda was here to hear this. Mama's engaging with you. You don't know how rare that is now!" Bjorn's heart cracked a little bit as he went back to the phone. He wished he'd known the right words to say 40 years ago. He had been an arrogant young pup! "Sorry what was that?" he asked hastily. He was reading something Christian was writing on a piece of paper. He smiled. Anna tutted him and said "I asked where you'd gone. I thought you'd hung up. "Never in a million years" laughed Bjorn. "Christian was just telling me that when I come and see you, he will bring me in his truck. It has blacked out windows and I'll sit in the back. No one will see me and they all know Christian's truck so they'll think it's just him, it'll be normal. He says he'll park the car around the back and then no one will see me get out. "Oh Bjorn it's too risky for both of you. I can't drag you into this as well please don't do this" "Agnetha Ase Faltskog" he used the tone that no one argued with, not even her. "I don't care about that. You face this danger every day, as do our children and grandchildren who live with you. I will be careful I promise. I promise you that nothing will happen to me. We will talk and we will walk. You will make me one of those cream cake things that you used to make me. I seem to have rediscovered my love of cake recently. We will have lunch and we will be safe in your house and garden. But make no mistake Anna I am coming for you."
