Huib went home after the conversation with Theo and Renate, joyfully told Margreet about his visit.

"Those movies I'd like to see too! Good idea to invite them all here. That will be a full house though, ten guests, five pieces of boarding family... shall we invite Martin and Elly too?"

"Good idea," Huib said, and continued with an innocent face, "And Simon too?"

Margreet looked at him, she heard something in his voice and saw something in his facial expression... "You're naughty, in my opinion, you're hooking him up!"

"To you?" Huib asked mischievously.

"No, to your mother, oil ball!"

"Oil ball? That Dutch dumplings with raisins? Delicious! But no, I don't want to hook them up, at most help them a little bit, a nudge here and there. Maybe they could use that?"

"So you too have the impression that Simon is the one with whom Annerieke could become happy again?"

"Yes, although she doesn't need him to become happy, she is already happy in herself, she is who she is and lives from that. And Simon... I remember, all the times he came to visit us in the past, he had a click with both my parents. In retrospect, I think, that was similar to ‘the’ click, also a soul connection so to speak. But my parents were married, and he never made advances towards my mother as far as I know. In my adolescence I experienced him as a kind of second father."

Huib thought back to the night Simon had come by for the building plans and chuckled, "When he was here most recently, I secretly checked on him. He didn't go straight to the parking lot at the guesthouse, he seemed to hesitate, and then bent down to Annerieke's house. I'd think it would be cool, if it clicked for both of them."

"It certainly would, but be careful not to arrange too much Huib, they probably won't need that," Margreet warned.

"No way, I won't do that, at least I'll try not to... By the way, what were you working on? Continuing with your photo books?"

"Yes, quite intense sometimes," replied Margreet.

"Do you like it when I come and sit with you?"

"Yes, really nice, but don't you have to get on with your work?"

"No, I’m my own boss, I think this is more important than the dresser, that will wait. It's basically ready by the way, I still have to think about how I'm going to decorate it further, but that will come."

Margreet picked up her photo book again and together they sat down on the couch. Embracing Margreet loosely, Huib looked along at the pictures of her teenage years. He saw a young girl, almost a woman... deeply unhappy with herself.

He stayed with her, listening to her reactions, feeling with her. He noticed that his body was responding to it, that his soul was supporting her with power and light so that she could go through her healing process easier, faster and deeper.

He recognized this, what his soul was doing. Erik had called it burning, but he hadn't experienced it in a long time. He was glad to feel it again, a burning sensation in his legs and his stomach, and sometimes a stitch in his head or his heart. It varied quite a bit. The pain from the stitches was sometimes intense, mostly because of the suddenness of it. Other than that, the pain was not intense at all, so he hardly wanted to call it pain.

He decided not to tell this to Margreet at this time, that would come when she was ready. Now it was his desire to support her and her process....

.

The alarm on her cell phone went off. "Coffee time," Margreet said and stretched. "It was nice that you sat next to me, somehow you helped me with it." She gave Huib a brief hug, "Thankie dear!"

He grinned and stood up: "You're welcome, and good by the way to see who you were when you were younger."

"Yeah great, a pitiful chick!"

"Yes, indeed I saw that too, but that too was good to see. The difference from how you are now is immense! And it only gets better... Come on, let's go and keep the others company. It has something he, drinking coffee together over there."

Embraced, they walked to the guesthouse, greeting Cees and Sita on the way, who were enjoying the garden together.

To their surprise Samuel and Rebecca were also present in the guesthouse kitchen. Rebecca told them that Annerieke had invited them and that they would join her to her house later. She also told about the conversation they had just had with Cees and Sita. They had really felt heard. "Those people have a wonderful light-heartedness, I think also a lot of humor, but can also listen with their hearts. We told them about the accident and death of our daughter and son-in-law, about the struggle we have been through since then. They did not come with all kinds of well-intentioned advice, they were just there, and their way of listening really made us feel that we were not crazy. Many people don't know what to do with someone else's pain and just say something. Cees and Sita didn't, they didn't say much, but what they said, touched us. And I think Annerieke is the same way. Is she your mother?" she asked Huib.

Huib nodded, "Yes, she is, the best there is!"

Annerieke smiled at him and gave him a wink. "That's not so hard Rebecca, he's the best son you could wish for."

"You guys are special, let's just leave it at that," Rebecca laughed.

In the meantime Samuel was talking to Sjaak about the garden. He wondered how he kept that garden so beautiful, the landscape was so large, there was so much to do, and was Sjaak really the only gardener? While talking, he soon found out that Sjaak too had learned to listen to his inner self in addition to his knowledge about plants, to feel what was needed, what would be beautiful.

"It always comes down to this huh, listening to your inner self, feeling..." Samuel sighed. "I feel a lot, sadness and frustration, but I don't seem to be getting anywhere."

"It's good that you're here," Sjaak replied, "and it's good that you want to move on, not push things away, but really move on. Annerieke will surely share with you how she came through her loss. I just heard your wife tell something about that, about your loss. Annerieke knows what it is, and has come through it well. It's going to be okay Samuel, rest assured of that." Sjaak nodded at him encouragingly and continued to drink his coffee.

To chapter 117. Quitting when you don't enjoy anymore

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