After the meal, Annerieke and Margreet followed the same program as on her first day at work. She noticed that it seemed as if she had done it many times before. She was doing really well. She didn't have to ask what to do or where things were, everything was known. Yesterday she had been making notes on a notebook during work, but Annerieke had advised her to stop that. She was sure Margreet would master it, that she would envision it. And that was exactly how Margreet experienced it: she envisioned what she had to do and followed… as Annerieke would call it… the guidance of her soul. She had never expected this, she was happy with it!

Annerieke also noticed that Margreet was doing well. She secretly kept an eye on whether things were going well, and when they went downstairs with the laundry baskets she could say with conviction: "You've got it already, you know the work already, and you oversee it!"

Margreet agreed gratefully. She put down the laundry basket halfway through the route, went into the kitchen and got the kitchen towels. However, when they got to the laundry room, she suddenly realized that she had forgotten to pick up the yesterday’s laundry. She decided to do it right after they put the washing machines to work. In the drying room however, she saw that the lines were empty.

“Annerieke, did you pick up the laundry yesterday? I just realized that I had completely forgotten about that.”

“Yeah, I did it yesterday while you guys were at the thrift store. I didn't think it was a problem, we just do what needs to be done, and we complement each other."

“It's great that you can be so relaxed about it,” said Margreet. Great for me too, she thought to herself.

Together they cleaned up the dining room and filled the dishwasher. “Would you like to call Huib for coffee, I'll make the coffee in the meantime.”

“Do you mind if I take a look at you doing that first, so I know what proportions you use. I can't even make coffee. I love your coffee, but at home I always found the coffee was way too strong.”

"And then it's no good!" Annerieke laughed, “The lines on the coffee pot indicate how many cups of water it can hold, so I measure the amount of water. I do one level scoop of coffee per cup of water. By the way, I need one and a half cups of water for our mugs, so you always have to convert that first, but that will come naturally in the end.”

"Completely clear! I'll go get Huib."

Margreet knocked on the office door and at Huibs reaction she stepped inside. He sat grumpy at his desk, or… rather… he hung grumpy behind his desk. But when he looked up and saw Margreet, his face relaxed into a friendly smile: “Visit from my dear little sister! You make my day!"

Margreet raised her forehead, as if to say, ‘What are we getting here?’ However, it soon dawned on her that he looked at her with a smile. She smiled back: "I'm coming to pick you up for coffee."

"Are you coming to pick me up?" he asked in an overly surprised tone. “In tow?” He pretended to find a rope in her hands. "It's not necessary, if you just give me a hand, I'll walk with you obediently."

Margreets forehead lifted again, her mouth dropped open in surprise. What was going on with that guy? Was he kidding her?

Huib laughed: "It's okay Margreet, I just like teasing you."

"Freak!" Margreet gave him in return, grumbling.

“Good girl, don't take me too seriously.”

As they walked towards the kitchen, laughing, Huib asked her if it was convenient for her to hang that towel rail after coffee.

"Of course, do it whenever it suits you," replied Margreet.

“Actually I had something else in mind. I actually wanted you to do it…” Huib suggested.

"Me? I've never drilled, I really have no idea…”

“That's why I will stick with you. Don't feel like learning something new? In any case, I want you to point out the right place, especially the right height.”

Margreet sighed deeply. She was quite willing to learn more, but it brought her back to her insecurity. Would she do well, not make a mistake? And if she did it wrong, how would he react? And many more thoughts flashed through her mind at breakneck speed. But she decided to be brave: “Okay, I'll try. I don't know if it's possible after coffee, I don't really think so. Annerieke and I still have some work to do. After lunch, can you?” asked Margreet as they went into the kitchen.

“Good idea, glad you didn't abandon our Mom,” he said with a wink at Annerieke, who had no idea what it was about.

“We're going to hang up the towel rail after lunch. I'm going to teach her how to drill right through that wall! Then she immediately has a peephole, nice and airy!” With a crazy face he grabbed his mug and started drinking.

Annerieke shook her head and smiled at Margreet: "That's not how I raised that guy, apparently he has that of himself!"

Margreet felt empowered by her comment and dared to go along with it: "Sorry for him, he can't help himself, he doesn't know any better..."

Annerieke gave her a wink, but Huib acted quasi-indignant: “How dare you, little one! How dare you mock me like that!"

He pretended to make a lunge at her. Margreet burst out laughing. She liked it, but it also made her nervous in a strange way. New thoughts suddenly flashed through her mind. What was that, that strange twitching all over her body as if someone was tugging at all her muscles or tickling her nerves? How could she be happy and nervous at the same time?

To her dismay she remembered that she had felt that once at school, when she was about sixteen. A boy from a higher class had jokingly asked if she wanted to be his sweetheart. Then she had felt something similar. She hadn't known how to deal with it, had giggled. She had found the attention funny and scary at the same time.

And now something like this happened again, she just felt a little stronger, perhaps because Annerieke was there. As she pondered Huibs words, her thoughts shifted and she even started to get angry.

Huib and Annerieke saw from her face and her attitude that all kinds of things were going through her mind again. They said nothing, let her fight it out for herself.

Finally her reaction came, unexpected and angry: “And how dare you, stubborn man-person, call me a little one. Who do you think you are to belittle me like that? I'm not a little kid anymore, I'm an adult and I want you to let me be an adult!"

Margreet was startled by her own reaction. Huib was silent for a moment, surprised by her fierceness. But Annerieke gave her an applause and shouted: "Yeah yeah yeah, keep it up Margreet, give that guy along!"

That broke Margreets tension and Huibs surprise. They burst out laughing and looked at each other.

“Sorry sister, I really didn't mean it that way. But with your roughly five feet in height…”

Margreet interrupted him: “Five feet?? Need a ruler, mister woodworker? I'm five and a half feet tall, and no, that's not tall, but I'm still not a little one."

"Okay okay!" Huib held out his hands to her as if to protect himself from her. "Not a little one, just a young woman, but you're still my little sister, you're younger than me, so I'll never call you my sister, but always my little sister."

Margreet sighed, looked at him and said with a smile, “Okay, take your best shot!”

To chapter 16. Sjaak and the beautiful garden

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