Page 24 of From Helsinki with Love
I can’t believe we are related…but see you tomorrow, dickhead
* * *
As I put my luggage down in the apartment hallway half an hour later, my phone rings. I dig it out of my jacket pocket and look at the screen. “It’s my mom calling.”
“Then you better answer it,” Vivian tells me, looking around. “Where’s the bathroom? I need a shower after that long flight.”
I point to the guest room on the right side of the hall without looking up from my phone. “There should be clean towels in the cabinet, but if not, there are more in the bathroom next to the main bedroom.”
Vivian thanks me before heading over with her two suitcases. As I watch her walk to the room where she’ll be staying, admiring her wider hips and round ass, the phone in my hand stops ringing. But it doesn’t take too long until it starts playing my ringtone again. I take a deep breath and click the accept button.
“Moi äiti,” I greet my mom in Finnish.
“Jasper! Are you at the apartment yet?”
“Yes, we just arrived.”
That leaves her speechless until she quietly asks, “We?”
“I have someone here with me.”
“How did you manage to find a puck bunny this fast?”
Her question catches me off guard—she never uses that word, and it takes me a second to realize what she’s asking. “You can’t say that! But no, she isn’t one.”
“Who else could it be as your team is playing tonight in California, and I know your cousin is at his parents’ place for the holidays,” she offers helpfully.
“Her name is Vivian, and we met at the JFK airport and then had the same flight to Helsinki.”
“How lovely!” she shrieks, and I lower the volume on my phone.
“Äiti…”
“What? I’m just so thrilled to hear that. Is she Finnish?”
I bet she’s itching to find out everything about Vivian. “No, she’s American.”
“And what is she doing at your place?”
“It’s a long story, but she was supposed to spend the holidays in Lapland with her parents, but they had to cancel their trip at the last minute. Vivian was already here when it happened, so she found out at the airport and was alone. I couldn’t leave her there.”
“Oh no, poor girl. Invite her over to the Christmas dinner tomorrow.”
“I already did.”
“That’s my boy. I knew I must have taught you something right.” My pappa and younger sister Elise can be overheard in the background asking what’s happening before she continues. “I’ll put you on a speaker.”
I rub my free hand over my face and groan. “Äiti, I don’t have time for this. We just arrived at my place and will have to get more food as Linny only got some of the basics. Not to mention that I want to shower before doing anything else.”
“Nobody wants to think about you showering,” Elise’s clear voice exclaims from the other end.
“Dear sister of mine, nobody asked your opinion. Stop listening to the call if you aren’t happy.”
She sighs loudly with what I can only assume is an eye roll. “Whatever, Mammoth.”
“At least I’m not a spoiled princess.”
“Kids, behave,” Pappa says with humor in his voice.
