A few days went by. Huib and Margreet each went their own way. They tried to forget what had happened, but in the meantime they discovered that they did not want to forget at all! It was a tough time, to just act ‘normal’, to not let on what was going on inside. They remained friendly, attentive, but their behaviour felt unnatural.

They thought that nobody noticed, but they themselves did not realize that Annerieke, and also Anton and Joke, observed them silently. Annerieke felt, especially during meals, that the atmosphere was charged. She did not know what was causing it, and struggled with it. At her question if something was wrong, they had both looked very innocent and had denied it.

Finally, when Annerieke ran into Anton and Joke in the garden, she confided in them. During her story, Anton and Joke looked at each other. They smiled and told her what they had seen. Then it was Annerieke's turn to put on big eyes.

"I felt that it clicked with those two. I knew deep down inside that they were a good match, that they belonged together! But that it would go on so fast..."

"I had the feeling that the tension in Huib had become so great, that he longed for Margreet so much, that he could not wait any longer," Joke told. Anton nodded, "And Margreet gave in completely at first, at least it seemed that way. What they said to each other, we couldn't understand, until Margreet exclaimed that she really couldn't do it. It seemed that Huib was already very far in his thoughts, that he had a marriage in mind or something. I don't know for sure, but in any case she couldn't handle it, she was visibly afraid."

"She did not have a good example, at least, what I heard from her about her childhood, I got the impression that there was a lot of intimidation, manipulation and condemnation towards her. But that probably also played out between her parents, and that makes a marriage horrible!"

Anton and Joke agreed with her. "Those who behave like that won't do it to just one person," Anton knew, "they do it by default, to anyone they can get under their skin. There's not much we can do for this sweet couple, I guess. Just be around so they can express themselves if they want to. Usually I have good access to Huib, I might see if I can talk to him sometime."

"Be careful Anton," Joke warned, "it's only so fragile between those two!"

"Of course, dear, very careful!"

"Thank you darlings," Annerieke said, "I’m glad you're here!"

Anton gave her an affectionate pat on her hand. "It will be all right Annerieke, they both need some time to find the right way to each other's hearts and Margreet to trust herself in it."

"Wise words from my dear husband," Joke praised him. She smiled at him and put her arm through his. So they went back to the guest house, through the front door, the guest entrance, into the house.

.

Margreets first week of work was already over. She did the work intended for her without any problem, she was friendly to whomever she met, was even quite capable of getting over her own insecurities when she was in contact with guests.

She also took initiative herself. Like that veranda. Huib had to do a lot of work on it. That had given mess, wood splinters, dust. Margreet had at the end of that afternoon, when Huib had gone to the shed to tidy up his tools, taken the broom and roughly swept everything together and put it in the garbage container. Then she had used the broom to give the veranda another good sweep, so that it really looked like new. When Huib came back, she was already inside. Huib saw how the veranda had been swept clean and knew that Margreet had done it. After all, Annerieke was cooking, wasn’t she?

For something else Margreet had thought of herself, she had gone to the thrift store. She had bought narrow glass vases for the dining tables. In consultation with Annerieke she had put Hydrangeas in them, two twigs per vase, with a small layer of water. Huib had heard from his mother that she made sure that the twigs got fresh water regularly. The reactions of the guests had been enthusiastic. They found it cosy. Margreet had smiled at their reactions, she was happy that she could contribute something extra.

.

In her free time, Margreet often sat in her rocking chair knitting. On her own, she had managed to create the knitting description for the half fronts. She had planned to make the sleeve descriptions only after she had the front pieces ready and sewed together. She knew she was foolishly putting it off, she was just dreading it. Somehow that felt childish, but on the other hand, she could use this time to only knit. Knitting and thinking, thinking about Huib, about how she felt about him, about her inability to behave spontaneously because she didn't want to provoke him.

At the same time her negative thoughts about herself regularly surfaced. Do you really think Huib could love a woman like her? And even if he could do so, wouldn't she just destroy him with her pain and insecurity? She was increasingly aware that she had grown up in a controlling family, a family that lived by intimidation and manipulation. That was her only example. How could she deal with Huib in a totally different way? After all, she didn't know how to do that and if she would be able to?

She thought about Huibs relationship with Annerieke. It had amazed her from the beginning how they dealt with each other, so freely, teasingly, lovingly, openly... she couldn't think of enough words to describe it. Their relationship, she realized, was one hundred percent the exact opposite of what she always had experienced. You see, she could never be a good wife for Huib, they just didn't fit together. And almost imperceptibly she withdrew more and more....

To chapter 31. Huib picks up his hobby again

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