A sudden sound echoed from the lounge, a jarring thud of the front door slamming shut.
Seconds later came the soft, shuffling of footsteps dragging across the living room carpet before a dark shape appeared in the doorway. A stark black figure against the dim light behind her.
Ingrid flicked on the light switch, bleaching the room in a harsh, buzzing fluorescent glare. Her hair fell in tangled masses around her shoulders. Her cheeks were red and blotchy while dark circles surrounded her weary, bloodshot eyes. A shapeless sweater hung from her shoulders. A drab brown fabric that swallowed her whole and hid any curves that she might have.
It was a safe sweater. A profoundly boring sweater.
Lela jumped to her feet, her chair skidding backwards, scraping on the tiled floor as she rushed over to greet her girlfriend.
“How’s Asmund? I was so worried when you didn’t —”
“You don’t look very worried,” Ingrid retorted with a voice like the sharp splintering of dry wood. She recoiled from Lela’s outstretched arms, taking a step back through the doorway. “It looks like you’ve been having a lovely time here. Painting and drinking tea with your friend while my brother’s been lying in a hospital bed, wondering if you’re ever going to bother visiting him.”
Lela’s shoulders tensed, her body hitching back as if Ingrid had struck a physical blow.
“Where were you, Lela? I tried to phone you this morning when they moved him, but you didn’t answer,” Ingrid snapped, her red-rimmed eyes flicking towards the tea mugs on the table. “You said you’d be waiting.”
I stood up slowly, calmly. My chair slid back without a sound. I moved to Lela’s side, placing a gentle hand on her trembling shoulder.
“It’s my fault, Ingrid,” I spoke softly, my voice laced with a practised guilt. “Lela’s exhausted. I thought it’d do her some good to take her mind off things for a bit, so I suggested going out to pick up things for the banner. She’s been in, waiting by that phone for most of the day. We only popped out for an hour or so. Why didn’t you leave a message?”
Ingrid’s gaze swung to me, her eyes narrowing.
“I did leave a message!” her voice rose an octave, squealing in my ears.
“There was nothing on the machine,” I replied, keeping my voice low and controlled. “You’ve had a lot on your mind, are you sure you didn’t get the wrong number?”
“I’m so sorry, babe! This isn’t Heidi’s fault. She was just trying to help.” Lela’s voice rose beside me, taking on that low, melodic tone of hers. “But we checked the answering machine as soon as we got back, there were no messages. If I’d known he was up for visitors, I’d have been there like a shot.” A long, drawn-out sigh slipped from her lips. “I knew I should have phoned the hospital.”
Ingrid’s rigid form seemed to fold in on itself. Her strength crumbled as she collapsed forward into Lela’s arms with a whimper.
“He’s been asking for you, wondering where you were.” Her voice quivred as she buried her head into Lela’s shoulder.
“I think it’s all just been a horrible mix up,” I said, my voice a brittle echo in the quiet room, a cold smile etched across my face. “You two sit down and I’ll fix us something for dinner.”
****
The kitchen knife was a cold, heavy weight in my hand. I watched the glinting blade slice through the hard carrots, striking the pine chopping board with a rhythmic clatter.
The frying pan hissed as I dropped in the kjøttboller. As soon as the meatballs hit the shimmering oil, a bead of fat spat up, stinging my cheek. I didn’t flinch. I didn’t wipe it away. I simply left it, relishing its sharp bite against my skin.
“I just don’t understand it. I know I left that message.” I heard a shrill voice say behind me. “I’m sorry for bursting in here like I did. Of course, I know you care.”
“It was probably just the machine playing up. You’ve got a lot going on.” I said as warmly as I could manage, although I kept my eyes fixed firmly on the meat in the pan. Watching it turn from a bright, blood red to dull grey.
“Heidi’s right,” Lela added. “The important thing is that Asmund’s going to be alright. We’ll go and see him first thing tomorrow.”
When the food was ready, I set a plate down in front of each of us and took a seat opposite Lela.
“You must be worn out,” I said, glancing towards Ingrid. “Why don’t you have a day at home tomorrow and rest? We can sit with Asmund.”
“That’s sweet of you, Heidi,” her voice squealed like old bicycle brakes. “But I can’t leave him at the moment.”
“No, Heidi’s right,” Lela cut in. “You haven’t left that hospital since he was taken in. You need some rest.”
Hesitating for a moment, Ingrid slowly nodded.
Running a hand through the bird’s nest of her hair, her eyes dropped to the food in front of her, stabbing at it with a fork.
“The banner looks amazing, by the way. Is that your handiwork, Heidi?” she said, her eyes rising to meet mine.
“It was a team effort, wasn’t it, Le-Le?” I said, placing a deliberate emphasis on my best friend’s childhood nickname.
Lela smiled widely. “Don’t flatter me, babe. You did most of the work, I just coloured in between the lines.”
“Well, whoever did it, it looks fantastic. I’m sorry again for earlier. I was just being selfish.” She glanced towards Lela, giving her one of those ridiculous doe-eyed looks she had. “I am glad you two had a good day.”
“It was amazing, thank you, Ingrid.” I spoke up quickly. “I was treated to a ride on Guinevere. It was exhilarating. She’s a beautiful bike.”
Lela shifted in her seat. I could see the grin on her face, her eyes sparkling with pride as I spoke about the motorcycle.
“Do you get out on the bike much with Lela, Ingrid?” It wasn’t really a question. I already knew the answer.
Twitching slightly, Ingrid’s eyes darted to Lela. “No, I’m not really one for bikes.”
“Oh, of course. Lela did mention that you don’t like riding.” I glanced over to Lela, “Good job you’ve got me now, hey, Le-Le?” Lela smiled at me and I continued. “Hey, do you remember that old scrambler you bought years ago?”
Lela laughed, the sound was bright and reckless. “Oh, the old Apache? That was great fun.”
“It was a death trap!” I interjected quickly with a soft giggle, stealing a quick glace towards Ingrid, who was leaning back in her chair, her eyes fixed on us. “Do you remember when you insisted on taking it up to Bjørnholt? We met that group of boys who challenged you to a race up the side of the gully?”
“I beat them though, didn’t I?” Lela’s eyes gleamed, wide with pride.
I watched Ingrid from the corner of my eye as I continued, my voice taking on a low purr. “Only to take a tumble on the way back down.”
Ingrid flinched, her breath catching in her throat. I turned my attention fully to her, offering a thin smile.
“Lela broke her arm and badly gashed her leg. We ended up getting a ride back to Oslo in an ambulance.”
“When did this happen? I don’t remember it?” Ingrid spoke, her voice grating like a rusty gate hinge.
Lela gave me a sideways glance, the corner of her lips twitching. “Um… I think I might have told you that I’d fallen down the stairs,” she said slyly.
Ingrid sucked in a deep breath, her chest heaving, but before she could say anything, I jumped in.
“They couldn’t get hold of her parents,” I said, leaning forward slightly. “So, I ended up sitting with her for the whole afternoon while they patched her up, holding her hand through the whole thing.”
“I can’t believe you lied to me about that!” Ingrid whispered through pursed lips.
“It was years ago, babe,” Lela said, leaning back in her chair. “I don’t think we’d been seeing each other for very long.”
“At least two years, Lela!” Ingrid cracked. “We’d been together for two years before you bought that bike. I can remember telling you that the thing was dangerous at the time.”
“I’m sure she just didn’t want to worry you.” I spoke up, my voice soothing, over Ingrid’s raw nerves. “We all did some silly, reckless things when we were kids. You must have some secrets of your own?”
She didn’t reply, her gaze drifting to the plate of meatballs in front of her.
Silence hung heavily in the room, punctuated only by the occasional metallic clink of cutlery and a constant laughter that hissed at me from the shadows.
I let a few minutes of the uncomfortable silence pass before I spoke again with a deliberate chirp in my voice.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing you play tomorrow night, Le-Le. That new banner is going to look amazing, hanging behind you in the Kjelleren.”
Ingrid’s eyes flashed. “You’re playing tomorrow? Where?”
“It’s just the usual slot at the Kjelleren,” Lela’s voice trailing off into a soft, uncertain sigh.
“You’re going to play tomorrow? On your own? Without Asmund?” Ingrid’s squeak stung at my ears.
“I was going to cancel.” Lela admitted, “But Heidi talked me into playing solo until Asmund’s ready.”
“It’ll be like a tribute to him.” I cut in quickly, my tone smooth. “Why don’t you come too, Ingrid? We can all do with letting off a little stream.” My eyes fixed on the diminutive figure of the mousy haired girl sitting opposite me. “Things have been a bit mad since I got back from Copenhagen, and we haven’t really had much of a chance to chat. It’ll be a good opportunity for us to catch up.”
“Oh, please do, babe.” Lela spoke slowly, her eyes heavy and unblinking, fixed pleadingly on Ingrid. “I really love having you there, and it’d be so wonderful to look out at the audience and see my two best ladies.”
Slowly, Ingrid nodded. I smiled, and the voices laughed.