CH 8

Saga and Henrik returned home long after midnight.
Saga placed her coat on a chair, happy to be home and tired for the emotional stress; she stood by the sink looking at the houses along the street, all lighted up, also their lights were still on. When Henrik approached her from behind, a hand gently on her shoulder, she did a little jump.
"It's me."
"I know."
She turned, he lowered his arms, he wanted to touch her, he had longed for a proper contact for the whole evening.
"This going out thing is difficult, when I worked late I wasn't so tired."
Sit on the couch for a while, Henrik proposed, afraid the mix of the festive season and the date idea was too much for her. Too many novelties, all of a sudden.
During dinner she told him it was her third time in a traditional restaurant.
First time with Anton, a man she had a brief affair with; Martin had encouraged her to give Anton a chance. Anton had similarities with Henrik, the patience he showed, the kindness in his smile.
Second when Hans and Lillian announced their marriage. She tried to refuse, in vain, Hans wanted her presence.
Not an impressive record, more scaring than reassuring, nevertheless Henrik was proud of her strength and boldness to dare a change.
He wanted to express his gratitude, to connect with Saga in an intense way.
When he and Alice used to go out, before the girls were born, they often ended up a little drunk and sex was routine, a fast intercourse before sleep conquered them.
He was sober, relaxed, dinner had been light, Astrid was safe with her aunt's family and he had all the time to thank his woman properly.
He headed for the bathroom, took off his clothes except trousers and shirt, turned off the lights and lit some candles. Saga's eyes were closed, her features serene. He sat carefully at her left, started caressing her hand.
She remained still, he moved to her wrist, very slowly, wanting to make her feel loved, to worship her like he never did before.
It wasn't lust or desire or mere sensuality - although he did wanted her, in a physical way - it was human connection he wanted to build.
Up her arm, covered by the new soft garment, to her shoulder, gently rubbing his fingers in the hole between neck and shoulder, where her muscles were tensed - hours spent on the pc or reading, the crack he heard often when Saga twisted her neck – and she let out a sound of satisfaction.
Saga used to sleep on her right side in their bed so there was a huge difference in how she reacted to his manipulations on the other side of her neck, where the grunt of pain was strong..
Henrik reduced the pressure of the rubbing and slowly the area relaxed.
Saga turned her head toward him, his fingers moved along the collar of the shirt, following the fabric until he reached the buttons of the cardigan.
He opened them and Saga twisted her whole body, making herself more available for Henrik.
She felt safe with him, their mutual trust was a certainty for her, although still developing day by day.
His hands on the first button of the shirt, waiting for a sign; Saga opened her eyes, nodded imperceptibly and closed them again.
Henrik didn't need another input, the shirt was completely open, she had a simple white bra - the kind Astrid used, he did all the laundry - so childlish in the body of a grown up woman. White like Saga's pure soul, not corrupted by the events of life, never subdued to her misfortunes.
Henrik lowered his head and placed kisses in the valley of her breast, his fingers slide under the fabric of the cup, caressing the skin, then again up to shoulders, neck, face.
She smelled different, she wore a perfume, he caught a whiff while they were walking and believed it was a random woman passing by; the fragrance suited Saga well, he had to ask Astrid – sure his daughter was the planner behind all of this – to know the brand.
By impulse her hand ruffled his hair, pulling him toward her, so the kisses become more intense, Henrik freed a breast and went for its peak. The first contact sent an electric jolt in Saga, when the pressure increased she moaned. That part of the date was becoming more and more interesting, Saga had no desire to hurry up things, it was their longest foreplay ever and she wanted to absorb it full; she was in total girlfriend mood, the evening out did helped her to discover another side of their relationship.
Henrik lifted his eyes from that sweet paradise and saw Saga's head tilted back, her whole body relaxed, enjoying new sensations. It was what he missed more, what was impossible to have from the women of the club, when he was always short of time, reduced to a fast screw, an immediate release and then he disappeared in the darkness of his house.
He freed the other breast, worked for a long time on it, wanting to make Saga feel what a woman could experience from a devoted lover.
Soon they were petting on the couch like hungry teenagers, her hand found a way under his shirt, caressing his torso, then travelling lower, fighting with his belt.
Time to move on the bed. Henrik stood up and prompted Saga to follow, pulling her up with him; her body was fluid, he wanted to keep the contact, keep walking, keep caressing her up to the bedroom door, where he stopped, his mouth again demanding, on her neck, sucking the pale skin, wanting to leave a mark, while her head bent to the side, eyes closed in pure bliss.
While Henrik worked on her neck, Saga opened her eyes and saw the mistletoe dangling over them; a gesture from her hand made him follow her gaze; Henrik felt silly for the idea; Saga was instead serious, taking his face in her hands and kissing him, opening slowly her lips to let him in.
Henrik was tentative at first, respectful yet eager to explore. His tongue searched hers and the first contact made hers retract, but his followed, asking permission, until her tongue moved forward again. The battle had no losers, both won and Henrik felt in heaven when Saga reciprocated, invading his mouth. A foreign land she wanted to claim, lips pushing, teeth scratching, tongue mapping all the insides. Henrik embraced Saga close, she let her arms encircle his body, pulling him to her.
After a while, both painting hard to regain breath, Saga retracted just to let her hand go lower, to verify her target. Feeling it ready for use, she asked Henrik to take her to bed.

"The play starts at 8 p.m., I have to be there two hours before. I go with Maja, her mom drives us and her friend, the technician from Malmo Opera, comes with us too, to control the lights, he said he wanted to make changes after the general rehearsal yesterday. You and Saga can arrive later."
"Ok. Your teacher told me they make a video and I can have a copy to show the grannies your work."
Thursday evening before dinner, Henrik was cooking and Astrid dressing the table, a slice of bread in her hand.
Astrid work had been appreciated by her teacher, she had painted with two other students the people dressed in Victorian costumes that represented the Londoners in the background. Her attention to the details had earned her a special mention.
She had lots of photos of the panels to send to her relatives and friends.
Her phone had a lost call from the director and a message from him asking to be contacted immediately.
"Mr. Henlund, I'm Astrid Sabroe."
"Astrid, we have a serious problem, Maria fell in her house and strained an ankle. She is with crutches, she cannot be on stage tomorrow, so you'll play instead of her. Meet me tomorrow morning at 11 in the hall, I'll help you." Astrid face went pale, Henrik was immediately worried.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm on stage tomorrow. Maria is ill. The director wants me."
"Do you feel up to?"
"I don't know. Where is Saga?"
"In Malmo police station, to see her ex colleagues before Christmas. Back in half an hour she wrote."
Saga arrived 25 minutes after receiving the call from an anxious Henrik.
"What if it is too traumatic for her? She refuses the village costumes, but now she can get back to type."
"This is real acting, not a role play created by the mind to numb itself."
"Yes, you're right. She was happy to be the substitute."
"She had been chosen, it is a powerful injection of trust for her pride. The others applied for the roles, she was called by the director."
When Saga opened the door, Astrid run to her and asked help to memorize her part.
"You already know your part, you need to focus on the visualization of the play. We'll work on it."
"I want you on the back stage with me."
"Not dad?"
Henrik nervously smiled. He imagined Astrid would ask Saga, glad for the bond between them..
"Dad is nervous enough, you are calm. I'll ask the director so you can be my own prompter."
"I'm not going to hide in the hole."
"No, there is a place just behind the left curtain. You'll fit in."
Astrid called Maja with the big news and her friend arrived soon with her mother, on a free evening from work.
Together with Saga they helped Astrid, each taking the various roles; Henrik cooked a fast dinner and the two families sat at the table for a moment of pause before working again on the play.
Henrik explained his stage fear as a young boy and Susanne thanks to her stage experience gave Astrid some tricks to overcome it. She suggested Astrid to simply concentrate on her character, talking to it, asking the character the classical questions: who am I , what do I want, where am I going?

At first the director wasn't prone to the idea of having Saga around.
Parents were better off the play, he stated. Saga was standing beside Astrid like a lioness protecting her cub. He realised he had no alternatives than accepting.
"I need Saga. She has helped me since I became the substitute."
He gave up and soon discovered it was a very good idea, he appreciated Saga's competence and precision.
Saga swiftly memorized her position, the roles of the crew and suggested to change the direction of the lights. Suzanne' s friend spent half an hour on a ladder to follow the new instructions and later everybody agreed it was a huge improvement: the lights were now directed toward the background of the stage, focusing on the ghosts who would visit Scrooge.
When Saga called Henrik to explain him the changes she promoted, he closed his eyes and remembered all the times Saga changed the board of the investigation.
The director made a mental note to ask Saga's help for the summer play at the end of the school year.
Henrik arrived in advance with his parents in tow. He slipped the big news and they wanted to see their girl act. Saga appeared between the stage curtains – her new task monitoring the attendance to signal when to start - and noticed the trio plus Lillian and her fianceè, eager to see Astrid on stage. Henrik opened his arms in sign of defeat. The unspoken message between them, Astrid had to remain unaware the grandparents were there..
Saga took her position in the narrow space behind the wall and the wooden panel representing the Big Ben. Her mouth was dry, hard to say if she was more worried for Astrid or for herself in such a curious situation; police manuals had no instructions for acting events, she had to play following her instinct and the spur of the moment only.
Her eyes were fixed on Astrid, who was standing beside her, whispering with herself the first lines of her part; Scrooge called for his secretary and Astrid with decision entered the scene.
Saga's fingers traced the lines of the script, already memorized; only Henrik knew she had spent half of the night reading it, with a little lamp pinned on the script.
They had also discussed Astrid 's ability to manage the challenge and Saga was assertive; Astrid's roles at the village were not comparable with acting for real, having conquered a solid ground under her feet and strong shoulders to lean on; she was no more a scared orphaned girl, she had a family and a net of friends. On stage Astrid was calm, she was in control of the situation and she remembered well her lines. The boy playing the second ghost had a difficult moment and the English teacher, hidden in the hole, had to repeat him twice a line. To cover the awkwardness, the sound director made the sound of the fake chains the ghost was offering Scrooge lasts longer, so that the young actor could reset his mind and continue.
Time flied, soon the actors playing Scrooge's family acted the last scene, Scrooge allowed Astrid Crochitt a Boxing day holiday, the choir performed the last song and when Scrooge wished the final "Merry Christmas" the curtain fell.
The public applauded and the cast lined up while the chorus stood on the platform. The crew arrived for the second call and the director approached Saga and took her hand, prompting her to join the line. She tried to resist – being a part of the crew for a day only not a title to appear on stage - but when Astrid saw the gesture she run to Saga and took her other hand.
Henrik was taking a video and at first did not noticed Saga, then he blinked his eyes twice, believing to have a vision.