I Won't Let You Go

Chapter 10

After about a 45 minute drive, Agnetha and Björn arrived at Gröna Lund. Just before they arrived there, Björn had parked the car at a nearby parking garage and covered Agnetha's eyes with a blindfold. Agnetha couldn't help but be curious as to what was going on.

"Björn, what are we doing? Where are you taking me?" Agnetha asked chuckling.

"You'll see. We're almost there," Björn replied with a huge smile on his face.

"Can I at least take this blindfold off?"

"No, not yet."

Agnetha and Björn continued walking down the streets of central Stockholm on their way to Gröna Lund. Björn couldn't help but smile to himself. He wanted to film Agnetha's reaction and Agnetha herself was somehow able to notice.

"Are we there yet?"

"No, almost."

"You're happy aren't you?"

"Yes, I am happy. Are you?"

"Yes Björn."

The couple continued walking for another couple of steps as they passed by the museum, the Pop House hotel, and the party. Next thing you know, they had arrived at Gröna Lund. Björn stopped Agnetha, who was confused, as he took off the camera and started recording as he handed the phone to one of the staff members at Gröna Lund who had offered to film this beautiful moment for him.

"What's going on? Why did we stop?" Agnetha asked, sounding confused.

"Anna, baby, in a count of three I want you to take your blindfold off. Ready?" Björn asked as Agnetha nodded in response. "One, two three!"

Agnetha took off her blindfold with a bit of difficulty at the start and she was stunned. Happy tears blinded her as she looked around at her surroundings and Björn couldn't help but be grateful that he was filming this moment.

"Björn! D-Did you do this?!" Agnetha exclaimed through her happy tears.

"Yes, I did. I thought I'd bring you here because of all the great memories we had here. We obviously won't be going on rides or anything but I simply thought I could take us on a trip down memory lane. Happy birthday sweetheart," Björn said as he kissed Agnetha on the lips.

"Thank you, Björn. Thank you for putting up with me. Thank you for putting up with all my emotional baggage. I love you so much and I know you probably won't forgive me for everything that I've done to you, especially the moment I left with the kids that Christmas morning. That was the worst thing I ever did to you. You didn't deserve it. Not at all. I can see why you and Lena started dating only a week later. Because in your mind, I was nothing to you anymore. I had made that decision for myself and I'll always regret it. We were meant to be together forever," Agnetha said sounding choked up as her happy tears started becoming sad tears and silently cried. Björn immediately held her in his arms really tight.

"Anna, you know I'll always love you no matter what. I forgive you. I have forgiven you a long time ago. And it was my fault you left that morning. Not yours. I was a fool for prioritizing ABBA and not spending enough time with you and the kids. The moment you and the kids left was a huge wake up call for me. I realized then and there that you were right. I had a wife and two small children to take care of. Family is much more important than being in a world famous pop band. By a long shot. That was honestly the worst week of my life, despite the fact that it was the holidays. By New Years Eve, I was so heartbroken and devastated that I needed to find something to distract myself with and luckily, I still had that invitation to the New Years party that Benny and Frida were throwing. So I went and Lena was there and were playing a game of spin the bottle and next thing you know, one thing led to another. I thought you didn't want me anymore and not only was Lena attracted to me, but she reminded me so much of you especially when it came to her appearance that I just couldn't resist. But she wasn't you, Agnetha. She really wasn't. It took me 40 years to finally pick up the courage and be with you again Agnetha. I'm sorry it took this long. I really am. Can you forgive me?" Björn replied.

Agnetha stood there with tears in her eyes for what appeared to be a little while before she nodded her head ferociously in agreement.

"Yes, yes. Björn, I've forgiven you a long time ago. But I was just so devastated, so heartbroken. There were many times where I just wanted to die, Björn! I don't know how I managed to survive the past 40 years because I can't live without you! When I saw you with Lena for the first time, I wanted to die right there and then. And there were multiple other occasions where I wanted to take my own life but I didn't because the kids were still young and..." Agnetha continued to sob her heart out as the Gröna Lund staff member who was filming started to sound concerned for the couple.

"Should I stop filming?" The young man asked.

"Yes, please," Björn pleaded as the young man handed Björn his phone back.

Björn thanked the young man as he walked away but stayed close behind as he was genuinely concerned for the couple, especially as he was witnessing everything that was pouring out of Agnetha. By then, everybody was looking at them and recognizing them. This made both Björn and Agnetha feel uncomfortable and he led to her to a quiet corner nearby.

"Anna, baby. I forgive you. Please stop crying. It hurts to see you this way. I promise we can continue having this conversation later but we are in public and everybody is looking at us. We are making them concerned especially since today is your birthday. I told you there's no more crying on your birthday. Please Anna," Björn said as he wiped her tears.

"I'm sorry, Björn. I just don't know what has been getting into me lately. I'm emotionally unstable I know. But I guess we can discuss it later. I want to celebrate my birthday with you and spend some time with you. And with Benny and Frida. And with the kids and the grandkids. Now that I'm thinking about it, we need to come back here sooner than later and take the grandkids with us. You know they really like going on all the rollercoasters and everything," Agnetha said as a smile finally appeared on her face.

"Sounds like a good idea. Now young lady, it's time for us to take a walk down memory lane," Björn said, taking Agnetha's hand as they both beamed with joy.

The other people that were surrounding them applauded and beamed with joy when they saw Agnetha and Björn come out of the quiet corner, knowing that Agnetha was finally happy again. Her smile was contagious. Björn and Agnetha walked hand in hand through the park reminiscing. At one point, Björn couldn't resist stopping by one of the games which involved playing darts.

"Björn, you're not actually going to do this?" Agnetha asked.

"Yes, I am. I'm doing it for you baby," Björn replied as she smiled in response.

Björn managed to throw all three of the darts he was given directly around the bullseye and it's range. He immediately knew which prize he wanted to give to Agnetha. A large Snoopy.

"Happy birthday sweetheart," Björn said as he handed Agnetha the Snoopy.

"Aww thank you, Björn. You're the sweetest," Agnetha said, kissing Björn on the lips as she held her Snoopy.

"You guys are a really cute couple. I couldn't help but notice," the girl behind the booth said.

"Thank you," Agnetha and Björn replied in unison.

"Anyways, it's getting late. We should get going or else we won't be home in time for your next surprise," Björn said looking at his watch and began walking with Agnetha in tow.

"Where are going? What's the surprise?" Agnetha asked as she and Björn started walking towards the exit.

"Can't tell you. It's a surprise. It's a good thing I still have the blindfold," Björn replied as he and Agnetha left the park and headed towards the car. She couldn't wait to see the surprise that Björn, Benny, Frida, Linda, Christian, and the grandkids all had in store for her that night.