Chapter 27

The next day I finally got around to buying a new Smartphone. With no other way of getting in touch with Petter or Monica, I drove around to Monica's apartment, but no one was home. I wrote a note with my number on it and left it in her mailbox. I guessed she was busy. She would be looking for a job and trying to get Per into a school. I had no idea where to find Petter and although I began searching for motorcycle garages on the Internet, I decided not to drive around looking. It would make me feel like a stalker. He knew where to find me.

It was two days before I saw any of them. Monica sent me a text that evening letting me know the number of her new phone. She'd applied for a place in a school for Per and hopefully he would be starting there the following week. She told me two suitable positions were open in a hospital, too, and she had submitted her resume for both.

I didn't hear anything from Petter. I spent the next day trying to do something useful, such as planning what to do with the restaurant, but he was on my mind the whole time. I tried telling myself nothing was wrong. We'd had great sex and I shouldn't expect him to be in touch with me every day. He hadn't been in Stockholm—why would he now? But it still bothered me. The next day I got angry with myself for moping around. It wasn't like me and I let my irritation turn towards him instead. If he wanted to get in touch with me, great. If he didn't, fuck him.

The day after that, Monica brought the boys around to see my new place. She liked the apartment, and the boys liked the sixty-inch plasma TV I'd installed just that morning.

"Have you heard back from the school and the hospital?" I asked her.

"Yes to both. Per has a place starting Monday. I have an interview for one of the jobs on Wednesday. Wish me luck."

"Good luck, but I'm sure you won't need it. Are you busy right now?"

"Not really. I need to get some groceries."

"I have a new car. Fancy a spin? I think some people might like my choice." I tilted my head in the direction of Per and Oscar who were flicking through the hundreds of TV channels I had.

"Okay. How did you get a car so fast?"

"I had time to kill. I went to the showroom, chose one, and sat around waiting while they got it ready for me."

"And I bet you flashing your cash around had something to do with that." She smiled. "Come on, what did you get? BMW? Audi?"

"No. Something more fun." I grabbed my keys and wallet. "Per, Oscar, you want to go for a ride in my new car?"

"Do we have to?" Per looked up and wrinkled his nose. "This TV is awesome."

"You can watch the TV some other time. I promise you'll like my car."

"Okay." Reluctantly, he switched off the TV and got up. Oscar followed. I smirked to myself as we left the apartment and walked around the back to the yard.

"Oh my God," Monica said and rolled her eyes when she saw the bright yellow Camaro. "You know you'll never get rid of them now."

"It's Bumblebee!" Per yelled. He and Oscar rushed into the yard and began examining ever inch of the car, from its headlights to its wheels and its fat tail pipes. I pressed the remote control for the doors so they could open them and get in.

"What can I say? I'm a child at heart," I said.

"I never would have thought it of you." Monica glanced up at me. "You seem different to when we first met you."

"I suppose I am different."

"Have you heard from Petter?" she asked then.

"No. Have you?"

She shook her head. "Something's going on with him. I can't figure out what. Did you fight?"

"No. He came over to see me a few days ago. Things were great. But he was cagey. He wouldn't tell me anything about his garage or the apartment he said he found. I don't have a phone number for him either."

"Me neither. It's not like him. He's always been quiet but not secretive, and I wouldn't have thought he'd stay away from the kids."

So, it wasn't just me. Petter was keeping his distance from his family, too. "I thought about trying to find this garage he's after, but I don't want to act like a stalker. I guess we'll have to be patient. He may still be shaken up over what happened. I can't imagine being in that position."

"You mean his only option to save us being to kill himself?" Monica shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself. "I was thinking the same thing. It tears me up, imagining how he must have felt."

"Hey, come on." I squeezed her shoulder and gave her a shake. "I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Yeah."

"Come on, Alex!" Per yelled then. "We want to go for a ride!"

"All right, let's do it."

Per helped Oscar fasten his seatbelt in the back, then climbed into the other seat. Monica slid into the passenger seat. "Hell, it's low. I feel like I'm sitting on the ground."

"Bit different from your Honda." I grinned. "Bit different from my Audi, too." I hurried around the other side and climbed into the driver's seat. When I started the engine, Per and Oscar both shouted in excitement.

I drove out of the city and along a coast road for an hour, until Per announced that Oscar needed to stop for a pee. A mile farther on was a diner on the beach and I pulled into the carpark.

"You want some lunch?" I offered Monica, as the boys headed for the toilets.

"Are you sure? We don't want to take up all your time."

"It's fine. I'm enjoying myself."

"Okay, then. But I'll pay. You're going to so much trouble."

"No, you won't," I said firmly. "What kind of man would I be to take a woman and her kids out for lunch and let her pay?" I rolled my eyes. "Come on, Monica. I can be a gentleman occasionally."

She laughed. "Okay, okay, you can pay. You know, you're getting dangerously close to me liking you."

"I'm doing my best."

We ate burgers and fries, followed by ice-cream sundaes. Then I drove Monica and the boys back to their apartment and returned to my own. I spent the rest of the day alone, working on ideas for the restaurant and wishing things would happen faster so I could have the keys in my hand and start doing something instead of just planning.

Another night and day passed, and I didn't see or hear from Petter. I tried not to be pissed at him, but I couldn't help it. I longed to see him, and it seemed as if that feeling wasn't returned. No amount of reminding myself about the last time I saw him and the number of times he said he loved me helped me shake off the feeling that things were going wrong.

I finished eating the food I made myself that evening and switched on the TV. I flicked idly through the channels with nothing catching my attention. Then my phone rang. It wasn't Monica's number—I'd saved that in my contacts.

"Yeah?" I answered.

"Hey. It's Petter."

My heart jumped. "How did you get my number?" I demanded, when I really wanted to say, "I was hoping you would get in touch."

"Uh, from Monica."

"Of course." I paused, wondering what to say to him. "I saw them a couple of days ago."

"She told me. You got a Camaro?"

"I think the boys' love of Bumblebee might have influenced me."

"Well, you have the money." He sounded bitter. "What's happening with the restaurant?"

"I'm waiting to get the keys. A few more days. I've been looking into options for it. I think I'll keep it as a pizzeria for now but change the decorations and some other stuff. When do you take over the garage?"

"Um, next week."

"Where are you? Your apartment?"

"Yes."

"Where is it? I could come over."

"It's not really a good time. It's been a long day. I feel pretty shitty."

Anxiety gnawed at my gut. "You don't want to see me?"

"Of course I want to see you, Davor. I just need a shower and some rest."

"I—" I stopped myself before I said, "I miss you." He sounded like he didn't want to hear it, or maybe it was my imagination. Perhaps he would want to know I was thinking about him, but on the other hand, he might see it as me pressuring him. I huffed out a breath and pinched the bridge of my nose. "I'll call you tomorrow now I have your number."

"Okay. That'd be good."

"Goodnight, Petter." I hung up and tossed the phone aside. Damn it. And I still didn't know where he lived.