Margreet decided to put the finishing touches on her knitting. All she had to do was sew the collar on. She cleverly spread the collar over the neck of the cardigan and fastened it with a few safety pins. Using the same woolen thread she had knitted with, she stitched the collar on. After a few stitches she looked at the result and was satisfied. It just looked professional!

After she finished, she put on the vest and walked to Huib's work shed. He was putting together the first part of her hobby closet. She noticed that he was using slightly thicker wood for the sides of the cabinet than for the shelves.

She coughed softly so Huib wouldn't be startled if she suddenly found herself standing next to him.

"Come on over," he said, looking up at her. "Aha, you've finished your vest! How nice it turned out!"

Huib stroked her sleeve. "And so nice and cuddly soft... are you coming to seduce me young lady? It's far from evening yet, though..."

She put her index finger to his mouth while looking at him sternly. "Certainly not young man, first your work, then your lady!"

Suddenly Huib grabbed her by her shoulders, "I realize you mean it as a joke, but I want you to know very clearly, that for me you are above everything! Do you put that well in that sweet little head of yours?"

Margreet smiled at him in love, "Yes dear Huubke, I know that, and I certainly won't forget it. Even if I wanted to forget, you wouldn't give me the chance! Is it working out with the closet? Is it going according to plan?"

"Definitely, it's going smoothly. I used thicker wood for those boards on the sides, because I'm going to make a decorative frame on them when the cabinet is assembled." He picked up a narrow lath that he had also already cut to size. "Look, this one, it fits right on top. But before I glue it on, I'm going to decorate it. And when the frames are decorated, I'll bring the cabinet to the hobby room and stick those frames on it. Then I don't run the risk of them breaking off while lugging them. If all goes well, they won't anyway, but it seemed so convenient."

Huib put the lath that would become a frame back against the wall next to his work table. "And so you're done with your vest. How does that feel?"

"Great! I can now focus entirely on the tapestry in my spare hours. This morning I was still feeling a bit of that pressure that I hadn't finished the vest yet. But now it's ready and I can slip it on on chilly days when I walk to the guesthouse or hang up the laundry. I feel royal in this vest, I don't know why, but at least it makes me happy!"

Huib put his arms around her. "And if you're happy, that makes me happy."

Margreet laid her head against his shoulder, wrapping her arms loosely around his waist.

"It looks really good on you, it suits you, such a long wide vest. Doesn't it itch now to start on your wraparound skirt?"

"Oh no, right now I just want to be busy with the tapestry. I think I'll take some time in between to measure and draw how I'm going to make those skirts. And then I'll see when I'm going to cut the fabric. There's no rush yet. It seems that most pregnant women don't get a slightly thicker belly until after the third month, so it will take at least two more months. Hmm... maybe I should start working on it soon after all. Two months does seem like a long time, but since I sew by hand, those skirts aren't finished in a few days either!"

"No, but I'm sure you don't need a month per skirt either, I think, so just give yourself time to enjoy your tapestry first."

They released each other again as Margreet said, "I will. And you have fun with my hobby closet!"

"Going to be fine!" said Huib, giving her another quick kiss before she left his work shed again. Through the side window he watched her go. Royal she felt in that vest. And royal she was, the vest did not only fit her like a glove, it just belonged to her, it really was her type of vest. And from the way she walked, he could see that she felt completely at home in it. She was really happy, visibly happy. He enjoyed his view for a moment and then continued his work cheerfully.

He had hardly started again when he heard a truck arrive. He understood immediately that it was someone who came to bring the building materials. Huib stood in the doorway of his barn to watch, waving to the men in the cab and to Simon who was walking behind the truck. Peace was over for a few weeks, and for Sjaak and Lisa for a few more. He saw that Margreet had stayed near their house. She greeted the driver and his co-driver, who jumped out of the car as soon as it stopped at the end of the little road.

"Good morning ma'am! We've come to make quite a mess! Some of this stuff is for your house. Do you still want it or do you want to back out? You can still do that, I'll drive back."

Huib heard Margreet reply with a laugh, "Well no, we can handle a little mess, especially since we know Simon and his crew are going to make something beautiful out of it."

"I see," replied the driver, who seemed to be in no hurry. "What's it going to be?"

"A large barn containing a laundry room and an open drying area."

"Sounds good, a nice, convenient addition. I'll give my colleague a hand with the lugging."

He walked up to the cart, put on a pair of work gloves and went to work. Some of it they could get off the wagon by hand, but most of it they did with some sort of crane, because the packages were far too big and heavy. Simon worked with them, pointing out where he wanted the materials.

Margreet stopped watching and went inside.

To chapter 180. Marieke's lunch at Bloemenhof

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