It was summer when Jens and I decided it would be time to teach our son how to ride a bike. He was four years old and all of the children in the neighbourhood had already started learning how to bike on their own. We were out camping and found it a great idea to have him come home and show everyone what he had learned.
Eiríkur was anything but keen on biking without the little training wheels we had bought for him. He didn't care about the fact that the other children laughed at him. Even the "pretty sun haired girl", as he called her, from next door could bike without the pink wheels she used to have on her bike. Yet he still didn't want Jens to teach him.
We tried convincing him by promising that he could first start with only one of the wheels gone. But it didn't help. Neither did coaxing with ice cream, candy, crisps or cookies. Not even liquorice did the trick.
So, I came up with a little lie. When he was sound asleep, we removed the wheels from his little bike. Jens thought I was cruel for doing this to our son and he sat in the tent pouting for the rest of the night.
The plan was simple. We'd remove the training wheels and hide them somewhere Eiríkur would not look. In the morning, when he would take his little red bike to get to the swimming pool, he would notice the wheels. Or rather, the absence of them. When he would ask us where they had gone, we would explain that the trolls took them. And thus, he would have to learn how to bike without them.
At first, Jens had laughed at me.
"Trolls? Trolls, you say? Are you sure he will believe ya? Because I know that you are the only one in the family who likes them and still believes in them." I had rolled my eyes. Eventually, he had stopped laughing and decided that the whole idea was cruel. He still sat in his chair, arms crossed and a kicked puppy look on his face.
"Come on, Jens... We both know this is the only way to get him to bike without training wheels. We can't keep those things on forever."
"... Fine. But only if I get a kiss."
"Really Jens?" Of course, leave it to my husband to make such a childish request.
In the end, he did get his kiss and we went to sleep soon after. When morning came, we were woken by a tiny little creature climbing onto our bed and pawing over our tired bodies.
"Far, Dad, wake up!", he whispered loudly, like only children and Jens do. I opened one eye to look at the tousled child on my chest.
"What's up", Jens asked from my left side, voice still tired.
"I think someone stole my training wheels. They're gone!" The violet eyes were wide with fear and a slight excitement.
I smiled.
"Oh no! That's horrible. What shall we do?" Eiríkur looked over to me.
"We have to find them! I can't bike this way!" I tried my best not to chuckle. Instead, I pulled him up to lie him down between myself and Jens.
"First, we sleep a little longer. Did you see whether the clock already had an 8 on it?" The silence told me everything I needed to know.
When we woke up again, Eiríkur couldn't wait any longer to get to his bike and show us what had happened. It was disastrous. The wheels were indeed gone and his bike had been moved.
"I think someone wants to sell them to someone else and become rich", the child told us, a very serious look on his chubby cheeks.
"That would be very mean", Jens commented, sneaking an arm around me and squeezing my side. "Don't you think?" The question was meant for me.
"Dad, how am I going to bike now?", Eiríkur asked me. I exchanged a look with my Danish husband.
"I am afraid you will have to try without them." The horror was clearly displayed on Eiríkur's face.
"No!"
"Far can help you… He will hold onto you and your bike, so you won't fall over." He seemed to calm down a little when Jens flashed him a grin.
"Promise?"
"Pinkie promise, little one", the man said, extending the finger to the child. Thus, I sent them off to gather bread for breakfast. Jens holding onto our son's back, Eiríkur gripping the handles tightly.
"You'll be fine", I said, just before they left. He only nodded, lips tightly pressed together.
It took him three days. We practised every day and had to follow him everywhere. He did not dare to bike alone and would start crying as soon as he thought he was biking without our help. It was quite tiring.
In the evening of the second day, Jens and I were exhausted. It was hot, we had been running behind Eiríkur's little bike all day and had not had a moment to ourselves at all. Now, we were lying on the grass, holding hands and gazing at the sky.
"Do you think he'll get there soon?", Jens asked, voice just as loud as when Eiríkur would whisper. I smiled softly and threaded my fingers through his hair.
"Of course he will make it, he's smarter than you think."
""M just worried, ya know? What if he falls and hurts himself badly?" I looked over to him. His eyes were still trained at the stars, but something told me that he was quite serious about this.
"You'll be there to catch him, right?" My voice was much softer than his.
"Hmm." He turned around and flopped his arm over my chest. His head was buried in the crook of my neck and he placed gentle kisses to the skin.
"I love you, even though you're way to cruel to the kid. Tomorrow it's your turn to pick up breakfast", he said. I smiled.
"I know. Come on, let's go to sleep. I don't think the ground will be comfortable." We got up and fell asleep not long after our bodies touched the mattress.
When morning came, Eiríkur woke us up again. Sometimes it surprised me how much he could remind me of Jens. Or myself. He complained that he was hungry and that he wanted to get food.
"Can we get ice cream? It's warm", he pouted. Jens laughed.
As I was walking around behind Eiríkur's bike, holding onto it to make sure he didn't fall, I decided that it was worth a try to make him bike without help. If I didn't tell him, he'd probably be able to do it. Every so often, he would ask whether I was still holding onto him.
"Dad, don't let go…", he said frightened, trying to look back.
"Don't worry, I got you." He seemed to relax and I carefully relaxed my hand, still pressing it to the bike frame. I kept walking behind him, and he didn't sway at all after I let go.
After a few minutes, I removed my hand, but stayed close to him. He swayed a little to the left and I was already reaching out, but he stabilised again. I sighed. No one ever told you that you would suffer from near heart attacks nearly every day when you had a child.
I had started to create a little distance between us, walking slower than Eiríkur biked. We arrived at the shop soon and he looked behind him when he stopped. Seeing me, a few metres behind him, his eyes widened.
"Why did you let go?!", he exclaimed, dropping his bike and running over to me.
"Because I thought you could do it yourself. And you did. You biked on your own all the way from the crooked tree until here", I told him. His mouth went slack as he gaped up to me.
"Really?"
"You don't believe me? Try again, then", I mused, picking up his bike and handing it to him. He swung his leg over the saddle and sat down. His little legs pushed the pedals around and he was off, heading towards the parking lot. After three minutes, he turned around, a huge toothy grin on his face. God, he reminded me of Jens.
"I did it! Dad! Look!" He came to a halt just in front of me, cheeks rosy and eyes wide. "I biked on my own!"
"You sure did. Come, let's get breakfast and then you can bike back and show Far what you learned", I said, and I held out my hand. He took it and skipped into the store with me. As a reward, I let him pick out a chocolate bar.
"For later", he said seriously, putting it in the basket.
When we were finished, he was very eager to get his bike and go back.
"Let's race!", he said, still smiling proudly.
"You'll win anyway", I responded, but he was already off. I shook my head and followed him.
Jens was sitting in his chair, a magazine in his hands. He still wore his sleepwear, which only consisted in a pair of shorts. His hair was very messy and he looked overall domestic. It dawned on me once again that I was very, very lucky to have such a handsome and loving husband.
"Far! Look!", Eiríkur exclaimed as he neared our spot. Jens' eyes tore away from the magazine and a big grin blossomed onto his face.
"What is this?", he asked when the child stopped in front of his chair. "Did you learn how to bike on your own?" His hands ruffled Eiríkur's hair.
"Dad taught me! I biked all the way from the store to here!" His voice was proud and he puffed out his chest. Jens chuckled.
"That's awesome. High five buddy!" The tiny hand seemed even smaller in Jens'.
I placed the bag with bread and chocolate onto the table and collected my kiss from Jens.
"I see he's groing up fast", he mumbled to me and I nodded.
"He really did a good job, right Eiríkur?" Our son nodded. "Shall we get the plates?"
"Yeah! All the biking made me hungry." Jens laughed and ruffled his hair again.
It was summer when our son learned how to bike.