Ch 10

The next few days passed, slowly and uneventfully. Elsa called, Anna put her on speaker and she spoke to them all and said goodbye. There were tears from everyone. Kristoff even cried. He cried for Anna and Sven, AND Elsa.

Soon the day came for Kristoff to go back to Indiana to tie up loose ends, get someone hired in his company to run that branch of it in Indiana, pack up his house and begin the long drive back to Los Angeles. He had talked to Sven about moving in with him and his mom-Sven was all for it! He was excited. It was going to be at least a month or more before Kristoff moved to L.A., he had a lot to do. Anna was not sure if she would make it through the month. They had phones, and skype, but it wasn't the same. Since the Elsa incident, Kristoff had been sleeping in the bed with Anna. They had even come close to having sex one night while Sven was spending the night with a friend, but they wanted to wait for that—until Kristoff had fully moved in to the house with them first. Anna didn't know why, but that was just the way she wanted it; and Kristoff loved her so much, he was willing to wait.

'Well, the car is all packed' Kristoff said, walking back in the front door. 'Ok, I will get Sven.' 'Sven! Let's gooo dad has to head to the airport now!' Sven came down the stairs, and walked out the front door. He had been sullen and silent all day. He was upset about Kristoff leaving—afraid that he would change his mind once he got back to Indiana, and not want to come back here to them. Kristoff spent the better part of the night before trying to convince Sven that he was in fact coming back, for good.

They got to the airport and walked to the gate. Kristoff's plane was already boarding. He wrapped Anna and Sven in his arms and held them tightly, feeling tears form in the corners of his eyes. He kissed Anna long and hard before he pulled away from them both and walked into the hallway leading to the plane. He didn't look back, he knew if he did, he would miss his flight. He wanted to just say ''Screw it.' and stay. But he had a business to take care of, and he had to either sell his house or rent it out. But he would figure all of that out when he got back home.

He got on the plane and found his seat. He put his headphones in, turned on his phone and listened to the music he had downloaded to his phone. He didn't want to look out the window and see his family standing in the airport and know that it would be awhile before he could get back to them. But he was coming back, and that was the most important part.

Kristoff's plane landed late that night. He got in a taxi and gave the driver directions to his house. Kristoff got out, grabbed his bags and headed inside.

His house was completely dark inside. He walked into the foyer and turned on the light, turned on the outside light, dropped his bags in the hallway and headed into the kitchen. He was STARVING. He opened his fridge, only to realize there was nothing there. His fridge was the same as him-empty. He stood there for a second, staring into the big white empty space that was the inside of his fridge.

He missed Anna and Sven and wondered what they were doing. It was 1 am there in Indiana, so it was 11 in Cali. Anna was probably in bed and so was Sven. He closed the fridge, went to the cabinet, opened it and discovered a jar of peanut butter. He grabbed some bread and made a peanut butter sandwich. He sat at the kitchen table and chewed. The peanut butter and the bread were sticking to the top of his mouth, so he got up and got a glass of water.

Just then, his phone went off. He grabbed it and entered his unlock code. There was a text message. 'Hi dad, I just wanted to say I miss you already and I love you. You are my best friend in the world and I can't WAIT for you to come home!' Love you, Sven.

Kristoff's eyes welled up and he broke into a HUGE smile as he read this. He was anxious to wrap things up here in Indiana, and if he had to leave the house open and sell it from Los Angeles, then he would. He needed Anna and Sven like he needed air. He now realized that he couldn't breathe without them-metaphorically.

He texted back, sat his phone down and got up from the table. He walked into the hallway, grabbed his bags, walked down the hall to the master bedroom, tossed his bags in the corner, got undressed and got in the shower. It felt so good to be in a nice hot shower. He had had a LONG flight and he just wanted to be clean. He smelled like airplane-if that was possible. He got out of the shower, dried off and got into bed. He lay there on his back, staring at the cieling thinking of Anna. Her red hair, her lips, her beautiful green eyes. He couldn't believe that in just a few short days, he had reconnected with his high school sweetheart and learned that he had a son and connected with him also. He felt like he had been on a whirlwind the last couple of weeks. He was afraid sleep wouldn't come, but it did-and quick.

Anna awoke the next morning with a smile on her face. She rolled over to the side of the bed Kristoff had started sleeping in and immediately the smile faded from her face when she realized he wasn't there. Was it all a dream? Had he REALLY come back? She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Over on her nightstand, her phone was buzzing. She reached over and grabbed it. There was a message from Kristoff. 'Good morning beautiful. I just wanted to say I love you and I can't wait to be back with you and my son soon.' 'Have a good day at work today and I will call you at the office later.' 'I love you forever-Kristoff'. Anna felt like she was in high school again.

She felt giddy. She jumped out of bed, forgot to make the bed and went and hopped in the shower to get herself ready. She went to her closet, dressed for work and went downstairs to make breakfast. She walked into the kitchen and for the first time, she realized just how EMPTY her house was. Yes, she had Sven, but Elsa was usually there drinking coffee; and now, Anna realized, Elsa was probably waking up in her new apartment in Nashville drinking her coffee and thinking about her day. Just then, her phone rang.

She looked at the display-it was Elsa. 'HI!' she said to her sister-feeling a lump in her throat. She missed Elsa terribly. 'I miss you and Sven so MUCH Anna!' Elsa said. 'We miss you too sis!' Anna said, sitting down at the kitchen table. She felt her strength drain from her. Could she go on without her sister-who was a part of her?

Elsa wasn't DEAD, she was just in Nashville, pursuing her career. They talked for awhile and then both women cried at the end of the conversation. Anna sat at the table for a few more minutes and then looked up-there was Sven standing in the doorway with his backpack. 'Mom, you didn't make breakfast, what's wrong? Do you miss Dad and Aunt Elsa too?' he said, walking over to his mother and hugging her. 'Yes, son, I do-terribly.' 'Well, you got me mom! I will make breakfast for us till Dad comes home for good!' he said, getting the bread and eggs out. Anna smiled-amazed at how GROWN he was. He was going to be 12 in February; almost a teen-yet most of the time, he acted 20. Anna realized just how THANKFUL she really was for this gift that God had given her 11 years ago.

They finished breakfast and went about their day. Anna dropped Sven at school and then headed toward work. She parked her car in the parking garage and walked to her building. She made it to her floor and walked in. The place felt-DIFFERENT somehow. The last time she left here, she was a single mom and had no clue that her high school sweetheart was still single and thought about her constantly. Now, here she was, a changed woman. She spoke to her colleagues as she headed to her private office.

She unlocked the door to her office and the heavy oak door swung open slowly. She barely got through the door when she noticed the bouquet of white roses in the middle of her desk. She walked over to her desk, dropped her briefcase on the floor, sat her laptop on her desk and reached for the card that was sitting with the flowers.

She opened it. 'SURPRISE!' 'This is the first of 2 surprises that you will be recieving until we are back in each others arms.' ' I love you and Sven more than you will ever know-and more than I could ever really say!' 'Yours forever, Kris' She smiled and sat down at her desk. The first of 2 surprises? When did he have time to plan this? she wondered. She put the roses on the right corner of her desk-close to the pic of her, Sven and Elsa in the backyard a few years ago. She had a full day. Meetings with clients, phone calls, a case to work on, she would be lucky to have time to breathe all day. She was typing away on her laptop, working on a deposition, when her phone rang. 'Hansen, Gordon and Brinkman Lawfirm, this is Anna Hansen, how may I help you?' 'Uh, yes I would like to speak to a lawyer-a beautiful red head with green eyes stole my heart many years ago and still hasn't given it back!' Kristoff said, laughing. She giggled. 'Hey you, thanks for the beautiful roses!' she said, sitting back in her chair. They talked for a bit longer, then Anna got back to work.

Kristoff was sitting in his office looking out the window, daydreaming about what the rest of his life was going to be like. Just then, his door was opened and in walked Hans Grayson. Hans and Kristoff had been friends for many years. Kristoff had decided that he was going to offer this branch to Hans. Over the years, Hans had proven he could run the business while Kristoff was off at other sites or on vacation. He trusted him. 'Hey Hans! Come in and have a seat!' he said, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk. Hans sat with a worried look on his face. He usually had an air of confidence about himself-but he was sure he was going to lose his job-but he didn't know why. 'Stop panicking and sit there and listen, you never know what he might have to say!' Hans thought to himself, nervously wiping his sweaty hands on his grey slacks. He sat.

'Hans, I have decided that I am moving to Los Angeles. I ran into my high school sweetheart during our reunion and I discovered I have a son-and they both live there-and that is where I have been the past few days.' he said, sitting back and clasping his hands behind his head. 'What I wanted to ask you is if you would consider taking over for me and running this office after I move?' Hans was in shock. 'Uh, um-oh my god YES!' he said, standing and shaking Kristoff's hand. 'Sit down Hans, we have a lot of things to discuss.'

Kristoff had decided that that day was to be his last. Hans knew how to do everything-he had nothing to worry about. He was leaving his office furniture, but taking all of his architectural books and personal effects with him. He called a meeting and told everyone in his office what was happening. There were tears of joy for him, especially when he told them that he was back with his high school sweetheart AND that he had a son! He was leaving in a little less than a month-he NEEDED to be with Anna and his son.

He packed his office that day and left. He pulled up in his driveway and sat there for a second and took it all in. The house he had lived in for many years-the one he had bought when he graduated college-and he was going to sell it. He had put so much time and energy into it-but he needed to focus his time and energy on Anna and Sven. He got out, leaving the two boxes of stuff from his office in his truck. That would be two less to load up later. He went inside and called the realtor that sold him his house. They agreed to meet up later that afternoon. Kristoff was moving-it was REALLY happening. Anna had come back to him-and now it was time to make a life with them! He was very anxious for the next few weeks.

He met with his realtor, and they put the house on the market. Kristoff went out and bought cardboard boxes that night and was up most of the night packing up. For one person, he sure had A LOT of stuff. He realized he might have to give away some of it-and that was fine. He grabbed a sharpie and labeled one box 'giveaway'. By the time he had stopped packing at 3 am, he had 3 giveaway boxes-he was EXHAUSTED! He walked down the hall to his bedroom, undressed and flopped down on the bed. He laid in bed and thought about the turn his life had taken in the past few days-he became a father, fell back in love with his high school sweetheart, turned his company over to a friend, and now he was selling his house and moving to Los Angeles. He smiled to himself and fell asleep. Life was as it should be finally!