Page 117 of River
When we arrived in Oslo, we checked into a hotel in the city center before we drove for about forty minutes to get to Noah’s parents’ house.
“My parents only moved in eight months ago,” Noah said as we walked up to the bungalow, which wasn’t very large or impressive in style. It reminded me of a summerhouse because of the cladding of wood panels, painted in a light blue color.
“They chose this house because of the view of the fjord.” Noah swung a hand for me to climb the stairs to the entrance first, and once I got up, I could see above the hedges and trees to an outstanding view of the water.
Before I rang the bell, the door swung open. Noah’s mother, Anita, and her husband, Eric, welcomed us with open arms.
“We’ve been so excited to meet you all,” Anita said as she hugged me. To my surprise, Anita wasn’t the large Viking woman I’d imagined in my head. She was my height, which was pretty standard, so that meant Noah had his height from his father. Anita was a lovely chatterbox that I’d already met through Noah’s phone calls with her. I’d been nervous about meeting her in person, but with her warmth and big smiles, she blew away my worries that she might not like me.
Eric was almost bald and had quite the belly. His aftershave was a heavy Old Spice, and his button-down shirt was a little too tight, but I instantly liked the man from the way he lit up and hugged Noah tight. Because I knew Noah’s real dad had been absent in Noah’s childhood, it warmed my heart to see the love between Noah and Eric, who’d been in his life since Noah was a toddler.
Eric invited Charles and Noah to the garden, whileAnitainsisted on showing Liv, Saffron, and me around.
“We used to live in a small apartment in Oslo. That’s where Noah grew up, but I’ve always wanted to live with a view of the fjord.” From the way Anita brought us to the window to admire the view, it was clear that she was very proud of their house. “We could have never afforded a house like this, but with Noah being so generous, my wish came true.”
“Noah helped you buy the house?” I asked.
Anita beamed. “He bought it for us with money he inherited from his dad. Noah is my only child, and we told him we didn’t need anything, but he’s such a kind soul.”
“I can’t argue with that.” I smiled at Anita and loved her already for raising such an amazing man, but I also wondered why he hadn’t told me that he bought his parents a house.
After seeing the two bedrooms, we walked into a small office where I stopped and chuckled in front of a wall full of photos. It showed Noah, from the time he was a baby and all the way up to a recent picture of him in front of Fleur’s Farm.
Leaning closer, I studied one where Noah couldn’t be more than five or six. “I can’t believe how light his hair was when he was little. It’s almost blond.”
“Yes, but then I had completely white hair until I was eight or nine before it turned light brown. Not that anyone can see that for all the gray hair I have now.” Anita tilted her head and took in all the photos. If eyes could touch, hers gave Noah’s childhood photos a loving caress. “He was such an easy boy. Always out playing with our dog.” Her voice lowered. “Until he turned into a teenager. That was a turbulent time in our lives.”
“Was he difficult?”
“Very. There was so much anger toward his father, but those are stories for a different time.” She gave me a smile. “At least now you know that when you have children, they might be blond like you.”
“I wouldn’t mind a small pack of Vikings,” I joked.
Anita laughed. “Noah told me you call him a Viking. That’s funny.”
“Why?”
She pointed to the low corner of the photo wall, to a picture of Noah dressed up wearing a Viking helmet. “That picture was taken when he was eleven or twelve. The costume was for a school play.”
With a grin, I pulled out my phone and snapped some pictures of my handsome fiancé as a boy, teenager, and man. I particularly liked the photo that was centered in the middle showing Noah as an adult in his police uniform with this dog, Nala. God, he looked incredibly hot in that picture.
“Who’s that?” Saffron asked and pointed to a photo I had ignored. It showed Noah with his arms around a woman. They were both smiling broadly at the camera.
“That’s Leah. She and Noah were together for three years. That picture is from my birthday party a few years back.”
I studied the woman whom Noah had told me about. It had been an amicable split between them, and I had the feeling that he was truly over her, but I was still curious to see what she looked like. Leah had a warm smile and pretty eyes, but her fashion sense was a little plain with her flat shoes and shapeless dress.
“Leah moved away some years ago, and I heard she’s pregnant with her new man,” Anita explained. “I can take the picture down if you don’t like to see Noah with someone else.”
I shook my head. “Don’t do that. There are plenty of pictures floating around of me with other men. I wouldn’t want to erase anything from Noah’s life before he knew me.”
There was relief on Anita’s face. “I’m happy you feel that way.”
“I’m impressed with your English,” Liv told Anita as we walked back to the others.
“I’ve worked in the oil industry for over thirty years, and we have mostly international clients.”
“Is that why you sent Noah to the International School?” I asked.
“No, that was his father’s idea. Old Parker didn’t spend time with Noah, but he paid for him to go to private school.”
“Why do you call him old Parker?” Liv asked.
“Because Noah’s biological father was old when I met him. Parker was my boss and older than my father at the time, but he was so intelligent and confident.” Anita chuckled. “It was inevitable that it wouldn’t work out between us, but the old goat gave me Noah, and that’s enough for me to never regret our love affair.”
The Easter dinner that Anita and Eric had prepared was delicious. It was several small dishes served all at once. Many involved fish, which Saffron didn’t like, but Anita wasn’t fazed by it.
“Come with me, Saffron,” she said and nodded toward the kitchen.
A minute later, they returned with a plate of fruit, raisins, and a giant cinnamon roll that made sure my little sister didn’t leave the table hungry. I smiled, knowing in my heart that Anita would be the kind of grandmother to spoil her grandchildren rotten.
