Huib held the door open for them and let them go ahead. They took off their coats and shoes and proceeded to the kitchen, where they were immediately put in their number by Sjaak in a roguish way, asking where they were staying, if they didn't want to see them again.

Huib, as so often in a crazy mood, embraced Sjaak and hugged him in his hair. Lisa was laughing out loud at Sjaak's bewildered face. When Huib let go of him, Sjaak looked at him and also burst into laughter. "Goofball!"

Huib stuck out his tongue, and turned to Annerieke, "Sorry momma, that we are so late. Do you have any coffee for these poor slobs?"

Annerieke was already pouring their mugs full. "Yes, and I also have a news, for all of you..."

She handed out the full mugs and looked around the circle. Pretending to be a shy adolescent girl, she whispered with a mischievous face, "I have a boyfriend, I'm dating!"

"Yeah!" cheered Huib immediately. "Bingo! Great for you Mom, I can tell by looking at you that you're happy about it, you're just shining, right through that feigned shyness! And tell me, who's the lucky one?"

"Do you really have no idea?" Annerieke asked in surprise.

"Oh yes, but I'd rather hear it from you yourself."

"Oh... well, it's Simon," Annerieke felt how real shyness and a deep warmth mixed together. Her cheeks showed red blushes.

Lisa chuckled, "That looks good on you mom, those blushes. And it looks even better on you for being so happy with Simon! Shall I give it away boys?" She looked at the others, who nodded. "We saw it coming, we felt it, that it was right, that it would click. I'm happy for you! For both of you!" Lisa stood up and hugged Annerieke. The others followed her example.

At that moment the kitchen door opened and Simon entered. He looked surprised at the cheerful bustle, and before he knew it, Margreet was hugging him. "Congratulations gabber, welcome to the family!"

"Wow, thank you Margreet! Can I call you my daughter now too?"

Totally unexpectedly, Margreet began to cry. "Yes, yes, please, but... damn, that touches me so deeply! I have parents again, a mother and a father, and this time the best I could wish for!" She smiled through her tears.

Simon put his arms around her and pulled her gently against him. "And how wonderful that I get to have children just like that, that I get to be a father... I never thought I would ever experience that."

Huib joined them, his arms around them both. "Simon, I saw you as an adolescent as my second father, didn't I? Nothing wrong with Erik, I got everything I needed from him, he was just a great father, but you came as an extra father, that's how I experienced it then. So for me this all feels very familiar, and I'm just happy about that!"

Simon ruffled his hand through Huib's hair. "Exactly, that yes, you liked to do that years ago too, rummage through my hair. Dad didn't do that, he expressed himself differently, but it always felt so good from both of you. Hey, nice and familiar, do it again?" he urged Simon, who smilingly complied with his request.

They let go of each other, then Lisa went to him. "Simon, we hardly know each other yet, but I was also adopted by Annerieke as a daughter, can I now adopt you as a father?"

"And me too?" joined Sjaak.

Simon laughed full-on, roaring, and wrapped his arms around them. "Sure, I'd love to be a father to you!"

Then Elly stood up. Simon chuckled, "And you, Elly, need a father too?"

"No, I don't think so," she replied, "but I do want to tell you that I would like to welcome you as a friend."

"Great, thank you friend!" and Elly too received an embrace.

Annerieke stood watching it from the sidelines, moved. Simon went up to her, "Anne, what a wealth, I make a mega leap from a somewhat lonely bachelor to a partner, a father of four adult kids and friend of Elly and Martin. It's super overwhelming!"

He hugged her, and before everyone's eyes he began to cuddle her. He removed the pins from her hair and fumbled through her curls with his hands, showered her entire face with soft kisses. When he let go of her and she poured coffee for him with already blushing cheeks, he looked back, at five smiling faces.

"Oops Anne, we had an audience, I forgot about that for a moment!"

"It was a beautiful theater play Simon," Huib encouraged him, "I always enjoyed it in the past when mom and dad hugged, I could just feel the realness and depth of it. And I felt that from you too, how you did it and how mom received it. What more could a son wish for? Well, my own sweetheart of course, and to cuddle with her..."

He put his words into action, untied her tail and began to play with her hair. And with a muttered "Under the guise of 'good example does good follow'," he began to kiss her face.

"What about me?" asked Lisa quasi-indignantly.

Elly burst out laughing, while Sjaak began to caress Lisa.

"Great couple you all are! I'm going to tell Martin about this later. I wonder what he thinks of it! But now I'm going back to work, loved ones. Thank you for your real-life plays, it was a real pleasure for me to be included!"

Still smiling, she stood up. Margreet followed her example and with a ‘see you later!’ to the others, she walked after Elly to the washroom. "How beautiful that was huh," she sighed to Elly. "I'm looking forward to the moment when Martin and you can join in on this, so real, from the inside."

"Here's another one looking forward to that! But... the blockage isn't just with Martin though, it's with me too. The idea of cuddling in public like this has always evoked shame in me, so there is still an issue behind it. It's all right, the desire is there, and we choose to go this way together, so... and by the way, after the movie night we hugged each other in the dark in the middle of the street. So it's really on the way! You're definitely going to work on the laundry first?"

"You got that right, go on ahead, the back door's unlocked, you can get in yourself. See you!"

To chapter 142. Lisa springs into action

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