(Leve
DrŘmet i Norge)
Tuesday
11:20 a.m., Oslo
“Is this really necessary?” Kate asked as Christian walked her forward in a straight line, a hand over her eyes.
It was driving her mad not being able to see where she was going! They’d gone down to the harbour after breakfast and got in a tiny little boat that didn’t even look like it could hold a dog, let alone two people! Then Christian had made her close her eyes and they’d “driven” for what had felt like about half an hour, before stopping and getting out. Christian had immediately put his hands over Kate’s eyes before she had a chance to open them and they’d been walking in the same direction for about a minute now. Kate wasn’t particularly skilled at walking with her eyes closed, and she kept stumbling over things, making her more and more irritated with Christian, even though she knew that he was only trying to surprise her. With what, though?
“Stop being so pessimistic!”
“But you know I hate surprises!” Kate protested.
“Well maybe it’s time you started liking them.” Christian said, not moving his hand from Kate’s eyes.
“Noooo, Christian!”
“It’s a really nice surprise, I promise.”
“Nice and surprise don’t belong in the same sentence.” Kate said sulkily. “I don’t see why you can’t just show it to me normally.”
“Honestly, nothing is going to jump out at you, or attack you, or do anything bad to you in any way.” Christian tried to reassure her.
“Eurgh, I wish you’d just tell me what it is.”
“Well why don’t you see for yourself?” Christian said, taking his hand from her eyes and watching her reaction.
Kate blinked in the sunlight and looked at the red wooden house in front of her. It was right on the edge of wherever they were, overlooking a stretch of pebbly beach running down to the calm turquoise water of the Oslo fjord. Surrounded by greenery, the little house staring back at Kate looked like it was part of a set, with similar houses in yellows and reds standing not far away. It was beautiful, but…
“What?” Kate asked, looking at Christian. “Am I missing the surprise?”
“What can you see?”
“A bright red house.”
“No, then.”
Kate looked at Christian again and frowned.
He just looked back, smiling at her.
“So… the house is the surprise?”
“That’s right.”
“But…”
“Do you like it?”
“I love it! It’s gorgeous!” Kate enthused. “But I don’t understand.”
“What don’t you understand?” Christian asked, slipping an arm around her waist.
“Why it’s the surprise.”
“Do you want it?”
“Do I want it? Christian, it’s not like a pair of jeans that you can just… buy!”
“Not even if you’re a super mega billionaire?” Christian asked, grinning at Kate.
“I-is it yours?”
“No.”
“So why are we here, then?” Kate asked in confusion.
“Because it belongs to someone who I love very much.”
“Who?”
“You.”
Kate just looked at Christian. “I-I don’t own it…”
“Well that’s funny, because these deeds seem to think that you do.” He said, pulling a sheet of paper from his pocket and handing it to Kate.
She took it off him and read it, her eyes growing wider and wider.
“Oh my God.” She said.
“And these are your keys.” Christian said, handing Kate a key ring with three keys attached to it.
“I can’t believe you bought me a house…” Kate said, stunned.
“You said you wanted one.”
Kate giggled. “I was only joking! I didn’t think you’d go and buy me one!” she said, playfully hitting Christian with the piece of paper that clearly stated that she was the legal owner of ‘Midnattssol’.
“Well you spend quite a lot of time over here now, and of course I love you staying at my house, but I thought it might be nice for you to have some place of your own to go to if you needed a bit of space, or anything.”
“Awww hunny, I love spending time with you! You didn’t need to do this!” Kate said, hugging him.
“Okay, then call it a summer house.” Christian said, hugging her back. “But it’s yours, whatever you decide to do with it.”
“Thank you so much.” Kate said, getting all tearful. “You’re so lovely.”
Christian smiled. “Yeah, but I make you cry.” He said, wiping Kate’s tears away for her.
“In a good way, though.”
“There’s good crying?”
“Oh I’m the expert on crying. There are many sorts.”
“Well then I hope I only ever make you cry in a good way.”
“You make me cry in the best way.” Kate sniffed, feeling slightly pathetic crying over a house.
Christian smiled at her again. “Do you want to go inside?”
“Yay, okay! This is so exciting! Thank youuu.” Kate said, taking his hand and heading up the stony path to the brown wooden door. “Is this the front or the back?”
“It’s up to you – it’s your house!”
Kate laughed. “Alright then.” She said, going up to the door and fitting one of the keys into the keyhole.
She turned it and it clicked, letting her press down on the handle and tentatively open the door.
“Wowww…” she breathed as she stepped into a big open room with white walls and a polished wooden floor.
There were wide clear windows at either end, which pushed light into every corner of the room, and the only furniture in the room was a plush white sofa in front of a low glass coffee table at the far end and a dark wooden dining table and four chairs at the other end, all serving to create a very minimalist feel. On the wall on the right there were two wooden doors, much the same colour as the outside door. Kate went over to the first one and opened it, stepping into the spotless fitted kitchen complete with wooden wall cupboards and a stainless steel sink. The window looked out over the water and again provided the room with an ample supply of light.
“This is incredible…” Kate murmured to herself, leaving the kitchen and opening the next door.
The room that greeted her was a small bedroom, decked out in neutral tones of tan and cream. There was a wooden wardrobe on the near wall, and right in the middle of the back wall was the most luxurious-looking double bed Kate had ever seen. There was a bedside table on either side, and grouped on top of the one nearest the window on the left wall were several white pillar candles, each tied round with imitation straw. There was another door straight in front of Kate, and as she opened it she discovered it was hiding a modern bathroom containing a traditional white bath, which curled over at each end, a sink, and the compulsory toilet. The paint on the walls was a very light lilac, which complemented the sparse white tiles, and lay in harmony with the cream carpet.
“I can’t believe this is all mine.” Kate said, walking back into the main room in a daze.
“If you don’t like the furniture, you can change it. I just thought it looked a bit bare without anything in it.” Christian said, pulling her into his arms.
“You furnished it?”
“Yep.”
Kate smiled. “I should have known. It has your taste written all over it.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“Christian, you’ve got the best taste in the world! You should have been an interior designer, really.”
“I don’t do it on purpose.” Christian said, looking surprised.
“I know you don’t, sweetie.” Kate said, giving him a kiss. “You don’t have to try to be amazing.”
Christian pulled her back towards him for a proper kiss, holding her gently against him, ecstatic at Kate’s reaction to the surprise.
“How much did all this cost?” Kate asked when they broke apart.
“Why do you need to know that?”
“Because… It must have been loads! I feel a bit bad.”
“Why? You didn’t force me to buy it.”
“No, that’s true.”
“It’s fine, okay? Don’t worry about how much it cost: you’re worth much more.”
Kate could feel herself about to cry again.
“I love you so much.” She said, cuddling against Christian.
“I love you too.” He said, wrapping his arms more tightly around her.