Saturday again... Margreet groaned, she was sorry that Anton and Joke would be going home today. She had experienced them from her arrival at Bloemenhof and they had become more than friends to her. Adopted parents, she chuckled.

"What are you having inside jokes about?" Huib asked behind her, snuggling up against her.

"I was thinking about Anton and Joke, I hate to see them go, they have become to mean so much to me. And I had to laugh when I thought of them as adopted parents. Fantastic people..." she mused. "And Mark and Greet are also going back home. I had considerably less contact with them, but the contact was good. I hope they had a good time here."

She snuggled up against Huib like a kitten, tickling his side and back with her fingers. "Are you in the mood for coffee yet?" asked Huib.

"Yes, quite a bit," yawned Margreet, after which she continued chuckling: "A special thought suddenly occurred to me, that drinking coffee together is just as nice as making love together. The world around us would call me crazy, but that's how I experience it. What about you?"

"Well, I do think that are two very different activities, hard to compare!" laughed Huib. "But the similarity is in the together. I think that's where the point of your thought lies, together, connection, with or without actions, with or without words. That connection is just there. Would that be it?"

"Yes... yes, that's it! You're the best!" Margreet gave him a kiss and then let herself slide out of bed. Humming, she disappeared towards the bathroom, leaving Huib with a happy grin. "My dearest..." he whispered, filled with happiness.

.

Mark and Greet were the first couple ready to leave. Margreet and Lisa had deliberately chosen to wave them off together. Mark and Greet had gone past Huib and Sjaak themselves to say goodbye. And now it was the turn of the women of the guesthouse.

Greet walked up to Margreet: "Well, almost namesake, here we go!"

What she had been afraid of happened, tears sprang to her eyes. "Damn, I don't want to cry, but I'm going to miss you Margreet, you have touched me over and over again with the little things you have said and done. You've said things that mattered."

Mark came to stand beside her, put an arm around her, "Greet has told about it, and through her it has touched me too. And further, I've been touched by the example Huib and you set. Yes yes, I spied on you!" He said it with a laugh, causing Margreet, Greet and Lisa to burst into laughter as well. "And that goes for you too Lisa, for Sjaak and you. What a lot has happened in those two weeks we were here. We are happy for you, for all of you. You as a team are almost all only colleagues of each other, but it feels like one big family that is really connected. I talked about it with Sjaak, he shared about a connection of souls. Huib and he had seen, that Greet and I have that too, but that we are still struggling with emotional wounds."

"Yes," Greet added, "and I talked about that with Annerieke, so nice! She told how she had processed the loss of her husband. Such a big wound, already healed very far in such a short time, I could not have imagined that, but I can see it in her. So we decided to follow her example and also start to consciously feel what words and things and situations do to us. It was a vacation with a very thick golden edge! By the way, what a nice dress you’re wearing Lisa, it looks really good on you! Sorry, that's a bit different, but I just had to say it."

They laughed and Lisa thanked her, told her how she got it, consciously feeling in the thrift store.

Annerieke joined them from the kitchen: "Ready to go? Did you have a good time?"

Mark nodded and replied, "Greet just called it a vacation with a very thick golden edge. And I couldn't agree more. Thank you so much, for who you are, for how you go along with us!"

"Glad to hear it! Just keep following your heart and everything will be even better than it already is. We wish you all the best on the road and at home!"

Gratefully Mark and Greet said goodbye and walked to the car. The women who stayed behind waved to the slowly moving car....

.

Anton and Joke were such regular guests and friends that Annerieke had asked them to please stay until coffee time. Joke surprised them with cake: "I'm sure it can't compare to yours, but we just felt like extending coffee time with cake. So... eat it slowly! We don't want to leave yet!!!" she exclaimed, quasi panicked.

Smiling, she handed the cake box to Margreet, "Do you want to pass them around?"

"Sure, no problem. Annerieke has let me practice often enough!"

Handily she cut the cake into points and divided them among the saucers. Lisa had already placed the little jar of cake forks on the table, so everyone could grab a fork.

"That baker knows what he's doing, it's delicious!” Lisa was visibly enjoying herself. "Have you ever considered exchanging recipes with him?" she asked Annerieke.

"Yes, I have thought about that in the beginning, but Margreet gave me the tip a while ago to try things out myself. I know the basic mixes, and I can vary them wonderfully. Just add something different, cocoa instead of vanilla, that sort of thing. The results are sometimes surprising! And furthermore, I sometimes look for recipes on the Internet. If I see something I like, I'll take that recipe and try it out."

"Convenient!" was Lisa's comment, as she continued munching.

Sjaak, beside her, chuckled, "You really enjoy it huh, it's just visible!"

Lisa was slightly startled, "What do you mean? Am I doing silly?"

"Well no dear, not at all, you're munching with little bites, you're just visibly enjoying yourself. You know, that's another thing. A lot of people, when they get pastries, they work them in. That's what I've often seen. Not you, you show that you enjoy, that's just beautiful!"

Lisa blushed and Sjaak stroked his fingers through her hair. "Beautiful woman!" he whispered in her ear. Her color deepened, with pleasure. She looked up at him happily: "I love you!"

"And that’s completely mutual!" Sjaak winked at her and continued with his cake.

Anton took the floor, "A word about the past week. We were going to stay this last week as a support for you, Margreet. But you have shown that you have already become so much stronger in the first few weeks that you hardly needed our help. And for you, Lisa, I was very happy that I was just with Sjaak and you when Henk came along. Sjaak is pretty strong, but whether he could have gotten that drunk guy back to his car by himself, I doubt it." He looked briefly at Sjaak, who shook his head doubtfully. "And further, and I know I speak for Joke as well, this week has been special for us because we were able to share in your happiness, in the steps you, young ladies, took to become free from the misery of your past, and your discovery of being pregnant, Margreet. Well, all in all, we had a wonderful time."

"For sure!” Joke added. “The contacts were, as always, delightful from heart to heart, and the expansion of your family here, of our family as well, was heartwarming. And in between I was able to work very hard on my book. Things that happened here, especially yours, Margreet, I was able to incorporate into my book with small changes, especially name changes. I hope that many people will be touched by it. In any case, you have touched us, very deeply!"

Joke looked at Lisa, "Your story especially, your violent past.... Do you mind if I try to include that in my book too? With other names...?"

Lisa nodded, "That’s exciting to me, but I also like that you want to do that. The world needs to know, that there are women who are sexually abused within their marriage. By the way, I think not only in the extreme way it happened to me, but also out of ignorance or conviction by their own husbands. I wonder how many men don't see their wives as a possibility of self-gratification in some way. From my past, I would have thought it logical if Sjaak had done that with me, but he doesn't, he doesn't pounce on me because he has a desire to do so. He doesn't let himself be driven by lust, but by a desire to do everything for me that I need to heal from everything that was done to me in my previous marriage."

She saw that Sjaak had turned red. "Sorry Sjaak, I understand that you feel uncomfortable when I am open about it, but these people I dare to trust."

Sjaak nodded, "It's fine Lisa, really, it doesn't matter, I'm just not used to someone openly speaking so positively about me, and on such a subject. It overwhelms me a little, but really, it's okay. It's the way you said, I don't want to use you, you're not an object of use to me. If we are so open to each other... to put it crudely, I would rather jerk myself off than use Lisa to satisfy myself. She is worth far too much to me, I want to cherish her and do everything I can to not hurt her, but rather help her in her inner healing. I don't assume that will work out perfectly, but at least that is my desire. So... that's out!" He breathed in deeply and exhaled forcefully.

Lisa stood up, tears streaming down her cheeks. Sjaak pulled her onto his lap, laid her head caressingly against his shoulder and buried his face in her hair. Gently he rocked her back and forth....

It was quiet in the kitchen, except for some sniffing here and there.

Annerieke spoke up first: "If Erik could have experienced this... this was his desire, that people in this boarding house would change, heal, become free, have real relationships. Dear beloved ones, somewhere I feel that even though he is physically no longer with us, he is still here, and he is swelling with pride and joy. Proud of you for daring to take the steps that are necessary, for yourselves and for each other. And happy for you, because you are so getting refreshed, so busy discovering yourselves and each other. This guest house has come to its purpose, and I am intensely grateful for that!"

She could no longer blink away her tears, they were now streaming down her cheeks as well. But through her tears she was beaming and she saw that the others were too.

"Well Joke, we couldn't have thought of a better farewell," Anton said, "and we promise without any effort that we will come back in a few months. We want to see all of you continue to change and you Margreet, we want to see you grow!"

Joke nodded eagerly, "Oh yes, we are so privileged to be able to witness all this up close, to be a part of it. On the one hand, I find it hard to say goodbye, but the fact that we'll be back in not too long, that makes up for it!"

They all stood up, said goodbye with hugs, kisses, and some last words. Anton and Joke were waved off by the entire Bloemenhof family!

To chapter 113. Room 2 is going to be very special

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