One, Two ... He Is Coming for You (10 page)

“Well, I got pregnant while we were still at the base and that
complicated things. I told the paper and they sent me home. Peter came back
after two months and we got married.”

“That I remember. I am glad your mother got to see you in that white
dress before she died. You looked so happy.”

” I was.”

”So what the hell happened to you?”

“I had the baby and everything was perfect until Peter had to go again.”

“To Iraq?”

”Yes, he was deployed for another six months. When he got back something
horrible had happened to him. I couldn’t recognize him any longer. He screamed
and cried at night. He got raging mad over small things and he couldn’t take
being home in boring little Denmark. It was like he didn’t know how to live a normal
life any longer.”

“PTSD?”

”Something like that. I’m not sure, but he wasn’t himself anymore. I
couldn’t rely on him. And he wouldn’t talk to me about it. He cried when he
thought I wasn’t listening, he could get so mad he would throw things around and
he even hit me a few times. Not hard, just slapped me a couple of times.”

”He did not!”

”It’s okay, I wasn’t hurt, but I started speculating about Julie. Was
this the kind of upbringing that I wanted for her?”

“So you came down here?”

“Not yet. First he went away again to Iraq. I pleaded and begged him to
stay home but he said he had to go, that it was his duty. And I just gave up on
him. I thought I at least would have six months of peace and a quiet normal
life for me and Julie. And we did have almost a normal life for a couple of
months until I found something. I hadn’t heard from him in a long time so I
wondered what he was up to. I opened his e-mail account and read all of his
latest e-mails. I thought I would see letters from a woman or discover he was
having an affair or something.”

“But that wasn’t what you found?”

“What I found made me so scared and so mad at him. It appeared that he
wasn’t in Iraq as a soldier in the Danish army. He had started his own private
security company in Iraq with several of the soldiers from his battalion who
had left the army with him.”

“So, what was the problem?”

“Peter told me before about these so-called security companies. The name
is just a cover up. They don’t secure anything or keep anyone safe. They are
mercenaries. They kill people for money.”

My dad stopped eating and looked at me. “That can’t be true. Peter
wouldn’t …?

“Apparently he would.”

“So what did you do?”

“I confronted him when he got back. And he didn’t take it well. He
locked me and Julie in the basement for a week. That was his answer. He didn’t
even defend himself.”

“Oh my God, sweetheart,” he said and held my hand.

“It’s okay, Dad, don’t worry. We’re fine now, remember?”

“How did you get out?”

“Eventually he opened the door and let us out. We had to promise never
to bring it up again or he would have to lock us again in the basement. I was
really afraid of him after that and realized I couldn’t live like this. He was
a ticking bomb. So one day when I was supposed to be at work, I packed all I
could and Julie and I came down here. The rest of the story you know.”

My dad had a tear in the corner of his eye. I got up and gave him a hug.

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you. I thought you were just having the
usual problems couples go through when they have kids. I’m so glad you came to
me.”

”Me too,” I said still hugging him.

“What are you doing?” Julie had sneaked up on us in the kitchen.

I wiped a tear from my eye and let go of my dad.

“Nothing sweetheart. Grandpa is just so glad we are here,” I said.

“So you started crying?”

“Well, yes. I missed him too, you know. Sometimes people get emotional.”

She made an annoyed face and sat down at the table.

“Grownups are weird.”

17

Lilly, the cat, sat on my bed while I was trying on dresses. I had spent a
few hours at the newspaper with Sune, when Giovanni Marco called my cell phone
and asked if I would have dinner with him at his house at the beach on Enoe. In
my head I had a ton of excuses but finally I ended up accepting his invitation.

I suddenly envied the simplicity of the cat’s life. Eating, sleeping,
eating, licking herself clean. She just liked to relax, and take it easy with
no complications in her life. Unlike me. This dinner could end up complicating
my life even more than it already was, and I didn’t exactly need that right
now.

I finally headed downstairs wearing a purple dress that was a little
tight but really showed off my figure. I was slim but not skinny. Ever since
the pregnancy I still had yet to lose around five pounds that kept resisting my
every effort to get rid of it. Not that it bothered me. I wasn’t one of those
women who got their self-esteem from the way they looked. And I had no idea how
to go on a diet anyway. So I  just made peace with it. But every now and
then, like now, I missed my old body from before the pregnancy, when everything
sat in its proper place. But by the look of my daughter and dad I could tell
that I wasn’t looking too bad.

“Wow, Mom! You look amazing. Very beautiful,” my daughter said.

My dad smiled. “You’d better be careful with that man. He’s a not a real
man if he’s not gonna try something to a stunning-looking woman like that.”

“I will be very careful, don’t worry,” I said and kissed his cheek.

“Who is he? Tell me please who he is,” Julie begged me.

I kissed her on the cheek too.

“Later, sweetheart. It ‘ nothing but a dinner with a nice man I met
through work. That’s all it is.”

“But why are you eating with him? What about Dad?”

The question I had dreaded. I was squatting in front of her looking her
directly in the eyes.

“It is just a dinner. I promise you that.”

“Okay.”

I kissed her again and got up. “Do I look all right?”

“You are so beautiful, Mom.”

“Thanks.”

I knew I could trust her. Her eyes were like a mirror of truth. She
would not hold back if she thought I looked horrible.

“Don’t wait up,” I said and left the house as they waved at me.

I drove there since I had no intention of drinking and losing control. As
I pulled into the driveway of the beach house, I almost regretted my decision.
I had just split up with my husband and I wasn’t emotionally ready for anything
new yet. And neither was Julie. She didn’t need a new man in her life right
now.

But then, I really liked the guy. Yes, he was a little too much into
himself and his artistic work, but there was something incredibly sweet about
him. And he had a way of being a real gentleman with me. He always held the
door, a virtue a lot of Danish men had forgotten all about. He listened when I
talked and he would actually remember what I said afterwards. I thought,
Maybe
I just need to have someone spoil me for once
and went up to the door.

I got to be spoiled all right. Barely had I sat my foot in his beach
house before he placed me on the floor in a pile of huge pillows with a glass
of red wine. Italian of course, my favorite. Then he prepared dinner for us.
Barefoot, of course. I drank some of the wine saving the rest for the dinner
since I could only have one glass if I was to drive home. And that was still my
intention.

Dinner was amazing. He had set the table with candles and fresh flowers.
And then he served the food.

“Tomatoes with balsámico vinegar di Módena, and buffalo mozzarella,” he
said in Italian and sat down in front of me. He wore a white shirt. The two top
buttons were opened and I spotted a gold cross on a chain underneath. He was
probably Catholic.

“Dig in.”

I lifted my glass in a toast. “To
le chef
.”

He smiled and we drank. As we started eating he looked at me.

“What?”

“Nothing I just really like to watch you eat my food. You are not one of
those women who won’t eat.”

“I am not, no,” I said with my mouth full. “I love food. You won’t be
seeing me not being able to finish my salad and water.”

He laughed.

“Well I’m glad. Because the next dish is Rigatoni al Tartufo. And that
is not for people who are afraid of a little butter and fat.”

I smiled.

“What is it?”

“Rigatoni with tenderloin, truffles, and chanterelles.”

My mouth was watering just by the very thought. “Bring it on.”

Of course I couldn’t just have one glass of that wonderful red wine, so
when he offered me a second, I decided I would take a taxi home. Then I could
enjoy the evening without having to think about drinking and driving. So I had one
more glass, and a few more after that. After dinner we sat on the pillows on
the floor and he lit a fire in the fireplace. The beach and ocean were all
black outside the big windows and it felt like looking right into nothingness.

“Do you want to feel the ocean breeze?” he asked.

“I would love to.”

He put on a sweater and I took my big winter jacket and then he opened
the door to the porch and took my hand. The wind was freezing. It felt like it
was biting my cheeks. I took in a breath of the fresh air.

“I just love this place,” he said and looked out over the ocean.

I did too, I had to admit.

“Come let’s go all the way down to the ocean,” he said all of a sudden
while pulling my hand.

Like a schoolgirl I followed him. We ran to keep warm. When we got there
he stopped. The half moon rose over the water. Without a warning Giovanni just
grabbed me, pulled me near and kissed me.

18

I woke up with the worst hangover in history. At least for me, that is.
Not only did I have too much of that great Italian wine the night before, but I
also woke up in Giovanni’s bed. Something I had promised myself wouldn’t
happen. So the regrets were hurting more than the actual headache.

What had I done? What the hell was I thinking? Who is this guy anyway? I
didn’t know anything about him and now I had slept with him. And what about
Julie? She might have had a nightmare and tried to find me in my bed, but I
wasn’t there. Who would have comforted her?

I sat up in the bed. I was naked. My clothes were on the floor. Giovanni
was still sleeping. It was only five thirty in the morning. I could hurry home
and pretend like I had been home all night. It was not impossible.

I hurried and collected all my stuff and sneaked out. I felt like an
idiot from some movie but this was how I wanted to deal with this for now. I
had to get away.

Julie was still sleeping in her bed when I got back to the house half an
hour later. Quietly I sneaked into my own bed and got under the comforter. I
even fell asleep for half an hour more before she woke me up.

She stood beside my bed. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest. I
sat up.

“Morning, sweetheart. Did you sleep well?”

”Where have you been?”

Oh, oh.

”Come sit,” I said and padded on the bed.

She sat down.

“I slept at that man’s house. It was too late for me to drive all the
way home.”

“But you promised that it would only be dinner.”

“I know. But we were having a real nice time. He is really nice to talk
to. And then I forgot about the time.”

“I sure wish you didn’t.”

“I know.”

“What about Dad, then? Who is going to eat with him now?”

I sighed. She was always so direct. “I don’t know. I really don’t know,
sweetie.”

“Why are you still so mad at him? He said he was sorry for locking us in
that basement.”

“But he also said he would do it again if we didn’t do as he told us to.
I can’t live like that. You’ll understand when you get older. I’ll explain it
then.”

She reached out and took my hand. “I understand it now, Mommy. I don’t
wanna go back in that basement either.”

I smiled.

“Come here and kiss me, peaches,” I said and tried to grab her.

She laughed and screamed and ran out of the room. “Try to catch me if
you can.”

Giovanni called a little later when we were in the middle of a big puzzle
on the floor. All three of us were heavily concentrating on the project.

“You were gone when I woke up,” he said with a gentle voice.

”I know, I’m sorry.”

”No note or anything? That was brutal.”

”I know. Sorry. I just needed to get back to my daughter.”

“I understand. I just never had a woman sneak out on me before.”

I laughed. “Well, there’s a first for everything.”

“It’s quite intriguing I must say. It makes you  mysterious and
hard to get. I like that.”

I laughed again. “I’m glad you do. ‘Cause I really had a nice time last
night.”

“Me too. Let’s do it again, then?”

“Let’s do that.”

19

Pastor Bertel Due-Lauritzen was a holy man. He knew God and had a personal
relationship with him. Everything he did was directed by the Lord himself. At
least that is was he told himself when he hung up his collar at the end of the
day. The kids in the juvenile detention center where he worked called him the
Bishop which he didn’t mind too much since he knew all are created equal in
God’s eyes. And like a bishop, he worked for God. He was there to tell the
juvenile criminals about God, that there was a way out for them and his name is
Jesus. It wasn’t too late for them to change.

In the very beginning when he first came to the detention center, he had
been very patient with the youngsters. Since it was a prison, he had made what
he called a confessional chair in the prison church even though he wasn’t Catholic.
But he found it useful for the kids to be able to talk to him anonymously about
what they had done. What he didn’t tell them was that he would always know who
it was on the other side of the curtain he had put up.