Three, Four...Better Lock Your Door (7 page)

It was now or never.

When the door opened to the dressing room Anders Hoejmark smiled and turned around feeling his heart racing in his chest and the adrenalin rushing through his veins.

Then he froze. The sight of a tall woman in a blue evening-gown made his body feel heavy like stone.

I should have known, he thought to himself. I should have known that I wasn't going to get away with this after all. I should have known that the past would come back to haunt me some day.

It always does.

She was moving slowly towards him raising the scalpel in her hand. She reached out with the other hand and grabbed Anders Hoejmark by the throat. He tried to fight her, but she was too strong. Almost supernaturally strong.

"Please," he pleaded half choked. "It's been twenty years."

The woman didn't speak, she only giggled like a little girl as she cornered Anders Hoejmark against the light blue tiles in the bath where he had so often enjoyed the secret pleasures of the flesh with fleeting acquaintances. His deadly screams were echoed in the gymnasium as the scalpel went slowly through the skin of his forehead.

C
HAPTER 11

B
RIAN
P
OULSEN WAS TIRED.
He always was these days. Heck he had always been. Twenty-three and he could never get out of bed in time. Not back when he was in school, before they threw him out, not when he had his first job at an auto repair shop that his mom had gotten for him and that he later was fired from. No Brian Poulsen had never been an early riser and he certainly wasn't this Saturday morning when he had to get out of bed and go to the sports center across town to open the doors for the group of telemarketing workers that had rented the gymnasium for two hours as part of the company's yearly picnic and "get-together" for all its workers.

Brian Poulsen did not enjoy having to leave his warm bed on a Saturday morning at eight thirty after a night playing Diablo III on his computer. But he had to. There was no way he could screw this one up his social worker had told him. If he wanted to continue receiving his social welfare he had to take this job. It was part of his "activation-package" that the county had ordered for all people on welfare. Brian Poulsen found it ridiculous. All these rules and regulations didn't help him one bit. It only made him resent working even more. Now he had to get up every weekend and open the gymnasium for people who seriously wanted to spend their Saturdays and Sundays chasing a stupid feather-shuttlecock around a small court. Just because the leader of the place wanted to be able to sleep in during the weekends. Brian Poulsen cursed the leader as he parked the bike in the rack in front of the sports center. He sighed and shivered. It was cold this morning even if it had been warm the day before. It was definitely going to be fall soon. Brian Poulsen couldn't wait for the cold to come back. He didn't care much for summer. He hated spending time outdoors. Why people insisted on going to the beach and running around half-naked in the parks, he never understood. He didn't even like barbeque so he always refused if his parents invited him while he was at their house to give his mom the weekly bag of laundry. Brian Poulsen would rather just order in a pizza and play on his computer.

"Is that all you're ever going to do with your life?" his mother would ask with worry in her eyes.

He would answer by shrugging. He really didn't know. He had no ambitions or any dreams for his life. He used to though. He had dreamed about becoming a writer. But then he had written a short-story in high school and his teacher had absolutely hated it. Told him he would do the world a huge favor by never writing anything again. It just wasn't for him.  It wasn't his thing.

Brian Poulsen found the key to the entrance of the gymnasium and opened it with a deep sigh. It wasn't that bad a job after all, he thought to himself. He walked from door to door and unlocked each and every one. When he came to the door in the back of the building he was surprised that it was already open. Not just unlocked like someone had forgotten to lock it, but propped open with a small piece of wood. On the broad handle Brian Poulsen discovered something else. Something was on it. He touched it and felt disgusted.

It was blood.

Thinking that someone probably just hurt themselves while playing badminton he wiped the blood off his hand in his pants with repulsion then continued opening up the gymnasium and went into the cafeteria where he turned on all the machines: the coffeemaker, the fryer, the pan, the toaster. Simply making sure that everything was ready for the lady who worked there when she arrived at nine. Then he walked downstairs onto the courts and swept them with a mop to make sure there was no old sweat or dirt on them. He unlocked the cabinets with extra shuttlecocks and racquets. He found clean towels and took out a new pack of paper towels and went towards the dressing room. He had his hands full so he had to push the door open with his back. Brian Poulsen yawned a few times as he walked inside and put the towels on a bench. Then he opened the pack of paper towels and took them out ready to fill up the container next to the sink.

When he lifted his head and looked into the mirror he saw more blood smeared all over the light blue tiles in the bath. Brian Poulsen turned his head slowly; his heart was beating fast in his chest. What he saw next made him gasp for breath and drop the paper towels, scattering them all over the floor.

C
HAPTER 12

I
WOKE UP WITH
a headache. It had to be all that wine; I thought and went into the bathroom to take a quick shower. The water felt nice on my body and slowly I woke up.

Julie and Tobias were still sleeping in her room when I checked on them afterwards. I sighed and got dressed while remembering the night before with Sune at the porch. I really hoped that this wasn't going to be a problem between the two of us. I loved working with him and enjoyed his company immensely. I really didn't want to lose him. I was afraid that this thing would come between us.

I brushed my hair and looked at my face in the mirror. I was getting older. The last couple of years had been hard on me. That Sune in any way had interest in me romantically was a huge surprise to me. I was an old woman compared to him. He was in his twenties and should find a girl the same age and with the same interests as him. We were nothing alike if you thought about it. All we had in common was our job. He couldn't possibly be interested in me could he? He had in no way shown that before. It was actually quite a shock. What was more shocking to me was that I enjoyed his kiss. I liked it.

I exhaled and put the brush down. But it could never be. I might have liked the kiss but I wasn't interested in him like that. How could I be?

I heard Julie and Tobias wake up in their room next to mine and stuck my head through the door.

"Morning guys. Slept well?"

They both smiled and nodded drowsily.

"I am going downstairs to eat now. See you in the kitchen?"

"Sure," Tobias answered.

I closed the door feeling nervous inside. Would this cause a problem in our children's relationship? What if Sune didn't want to see us anymore and therefore didn't want to let Tobias come here anymore? My heart was heavy as I walked downstairs. Dad was whistling in the kitchen. It was the best sound in the world, I thought to myself. He was so happy with our arrangement. What was I ever going to do once he wasn't here anymore? I pushed the thought out of my head. I didn't want to think about that now.

"Morning sweetheart," Dad said and kissed me on the cheek.

"Morning," I answered and poured myself a cup of coffee.

I sat at the table and took a sip of coffee. Dad had been to the bakery and brought back freshly baked bread rolls and pastries. He placed a bowl of soft-boiled eggs in front of me. I took a roll and buttered it.

A few minutes later Julie and Tobias came down the stairs. Their hair looked messy from sleeping. They were both smiling. They were always so happy when they were together. I enjoyed having Tobias at the house. He had become the brother I had never given Julie. I had always wanted more than one child. I wanted an entire bunch of them. But now I didn't know any longer. I certainly didn't want any more children with Peter, Julie's dad. He was way too unstable. But would I want them with someone else? I couldn't imagine who that should be. I couldn't imagine myself being pregnant and going through all that stuff once again.

Dad served them rolls and juice. I was going through the newspapers as I always did in the morning. Making sure no other paper had a story that we should have done before them.

"When am I going home today?" Tobias asked.

I put down the paper and looked at him. "I don't know, sweetie. I told your dad to let you stay for a few hours, giving you some time to play."

Tobias and Julie cheered and looked at each other with great excitement.

"That means we can go in our secret hide-out and finish the game," Julie whispered so loudly everyone around the table could hear it.

"What secret hide-out?" I asked.

"If I told you it wouldn't be a secret," Julie said with a smile. Then she whispered to Tobias, "Hurry up and finish your breakfast so we can play."

Tobias shoveled in his rolls and washed it all down with his orange juice, causing him to cough.

"Easy there," I said. "Can't have you choking."

Tobias threw me a smile to ensure me he was fine. Then they ran off.

"What about your plates?" I yelled after them. "You know you have to clean up after yourselves."

But they were long gone. I took their plates and put them in the dishwasher.

"What's that about a secret hide-out?" I asked Dad.

He shrugged with a mischievous smile. Then he shook his head. "If I told you it wouldn't be a secret," he said.

"Are you on their side now?" I asked.

"I think I have always been on their side."

"Hmm," I said. "As long as you know that they're not getting themselves into any kind of trouble in there," I said and went back to my paper.

"What kind of trouble?"

I lifted my head from the paper and looked into the eyes of Sune. He turned his head as our eyes met.

"Sune!" Dad exclaimed. "Come on in. Have a bite to eat."

Sune shook his head. "I really can't. I’m just here to pick up Tobias."

I exhaled. "So soon? I thought we agreed they could have the day to play together. It's Saturday."

"I know what day it is. I just really need to bring him home now." His voice was cold and dismissive.

"Do you have anywhere to be? Is there something you need to do today?" I asked. "I don't understand why ... You didn't say anything about this yesterday."

"You know what? It is really none of your business," Sune said.

"How about a cup of coffee?" Dad asked.

Sune shook his head again. His eyes were still avoiding mine. "No thanks. I'm good." He went towards the stairs. "Are they up there?"

Dad nodded. Sune started walking. I got up and followed him. As he reached the end of the stairs I grabbed his arm.

"Sune. Please don't do this. Don't punish the kids for what happened yesterday. It was a simple mistake. I'm willing to forget. I have already forgotten all about it. It's no big deal. It really isn't."

He turned and looked at me. His eyes were cold and distant. It scared me. His eyes were normally so warm and caring. "It might not have been a big deal for you and you might be able to forget it easily. But I can't. Not like that. I don't run around kissing girls every day. I never expose myself like I did last night. You hurt me. I will get over it eventually, but it will not be easy."

I stepped backwards and let go of his arm. "But ... but. What about work? We have to work together."

"I need this job and you need a great photographer who understands how you think. We need each other, so we will have to make this work. I see no other way. But for now I'll ask you to forgive me, but I need some space. I need to keep you at a distance."

It was like someone had ripped a part of me out when he spoke those words. I knew I was going to miss his friendship terribly, but I also knew that he was right. Keeping a distance and staying strictly professional for a while was the only way we could save this.

I just didn't know if it was possible.

"Why are you here so soon?" Tobias said.

They had heard us and started walking down the stairs.

"I've come to take you home now, Tobias. We need to go," Sune said.

Julie's expression changed drastically. I walked up to her and hugged her. "But Mom, we were supposed to ..."

"I know sweetie, but Tobias has to go home with his dad now, so you'll have to play another time."

"Dad?" Tobias said with a reproaching tone. "Can't we at least stay for a few minutes more so Julie and I can finish playing?"

I felt angry at Sune. This was ridiculous. The kids hadn't done anything wrong. There was no reason for them to be punished because their parents had acted foolish.

Sune exhaled. I saw the hurt in his eyes. He didn't want to split the kids apart either. But somehow he felt he had to. He had to separate our lives. I understood that. I didn't applaud it but I respected his wish.

"You'll see each other in school on Monday," I said.

Julie hugged my hand tight as we waved goodbye to Sune and Tobias. It was like she somehow knew that something was going on.

"Let's play Scrabble," I said forcing a cheerful voice.

"I'd rather play Monopoly," she said.

I didn't pay much attention to the game while we were playing. I was thinking constantly about Sune and how to make this up to him. If only there was some way I could make him feel better, make him forget that stupid kiss, that entire stupid evening. I cursed myself for asking if he wanted a glass of wine. If I had only let him go home like he wanted to. If I had not let him kiss me.

Julie noticed quickly that I wasn't all there.