At the end of the afternoon, he looked at his mobile phone for his business mail. An application for next week had come in, a request for a reservation for a midweek stay for two people. Mr. and Mrs. In ‘t Veld... the last name of Margreet... the same hometown... It could hardly be otherwise than that they were her parents.

Huib thought back to the email Margreet had received from them, which she had let him read. They had blocked the email address and phone number for a reason. Margreet needed it to not be hounded by them. She needed peace to get free and learn to think for herself. She needed rest to heal and discover herself.

He considered to write back immediately that they were already full that week, but realized he couldn't do that because it was visible on the site that they still had two rooms available that week. It would be a stay of execution anyway. Those people seemed to him to be pushy enough to keep going until they could be here for a while to further destroy their daughter.

He didn't want to think about the possibility that Margreet, who had become so much more relaxed in a short time, would fall back into that hole of insecurity and negative thinking. How could he protect her?

He wanted to talk about it with his mother, but she was busy in the kitchen, she had to have the meal ready in no time... Anton! He could discuss it with Anton. He had sensed Margreet well, right from the start, he might be able to advise him.

Huib found Anton in the garden, pacing and seriously lost in thought. Huib didn't wonder if anything was wrong. He had no idea that Anton was pacing and thinking about him, about how he could help him with regard to his dealings with Margreet. Huib strode towards Anton with large strides.

"Anton, Anton, do you have a moment? I urgently need your advice." Anton looked up in surprise, seeing the subject of his thoughts coming to him so excitedly.

"Yes! So tell me, what's going on?"

"Anton, you had Margreet figured out the first day, her shyness, her insecurity. She thought so negatively of herself. Don't you think she's doing a lot better now?" And when Anton nodded in confirmation, he continued: "I've had a request for a reservation for next week, a man and woman with the same last name and the same hometown as Margreet. My last name, Jansen, there are thousands of them! But you don't come across In 't Veld nearly as often, and then the same hometown. So I..."

"You're sure it's from her parents..." Anton supplemented, "and I think you're right."

Huib continued, "Exactly! Margreet let me read an email from them a few days ago, terribly negative! Together we sent a short reply and blocked their email address and phone number to give Margreet peace of mind. But these people apparently won't let that stop them."

"If she wants no contact with them at all, she will have to tell that specifically, that she is breaking off contact. Would she want to go that far, do you think?"

"As a matter of fact, we've already done that in that response to their email, but apparently those people just bulldoze right over it. I don't think their presence is helping her process in any way. Her healing process, you know, discovering herself, healing emotionally and all that."

Anton smiled, "I know all about that, you can't really have people like that around you. But we can't just decide for her to refuse her parents. She will have to do that herself if she really wants to. You know what I think Huib, I think you can just let them come. It will be a few hard days for Margreet. But suppose she discovers, she won't let them waltz over her anymore? What if she finds out that she is able to respond to them and stay with it, and go her own way? That would be a good confirmation for her. Maybe she has already reached the point that she can handle it just fine. And she doesn't have to do it alone, you're there too..." He thought of what he had witnessed together with Joke.

Huib looked at him, thought briefly and said, "I'll be honest with you Anton. You had already realized the day Margreet arrived here, that she and I belonged together. I myself had felt right away when I met her for the first time that I had been waiting for her. I had explored some girls, so to speak, but I didn't warm up to any of them. And then Margreet came along, and immediately it was bingo inside! At first I thought it was just business, that it clicked that I got to let her work here, but I realized very quickly that it was mostly personal."

"She was allowed to come and work here so that the two of you would meet..." Anton explained.

Huib looked at him in surprise: "Yeah, you're right, that's how it was! And now, damn it, I screwed up Anton. I kissed her, and she seemed to receive it, to enjoy it, she even kissed back, and then... so stupid... I went way too fast, I said I loved her so much and wanted to marry her. Anton, we had only known each other for a week, at the most! The poor girl was shocked and started to protest. I saw so much fear in her eyes! When I think back, I am actually surprised that, despite her fear, she was able to stand up for herself, use words to put me in my place. In the roller coaster of that moment I didn't notice it, but now, looking back..."

"Probably on the one hand she feels safe here, also with you, but on the other hand she suffers from a sense of panic. I'll be honest with you, Joke and I saw the both of you from a distance, you’re loving each other and then her anxious reaction. We had just returned from a walk on the estate, walked towards the guest house, and saw how you started kissing her and how she reacted. We were happy for you... and then we saw you talking, louder and louder, and even heard her shout something along the lines of that she couldn't do that, that she couldn't marry you. It seemed too soon for her. If her parents were for her as you described, their marriage will not be good either. Not the way you saw with your parents, not the way Joke and I are connecting more and more. If she has had a bad example of marriage, that will probably have flown at her when you started talking about getting married. I suspect that she does want you, that somehow she did feel the click between you, that she is at least attracted to you, but that at the word marriage she gets an image and a feeling that scares her. On the other hand, she sees Martin and Emma, Joke and me, and your relationship with your mother, and that shows her that there are also very beautiful relationships. But that doesn't give her enough of a counterbalance at the moment, I suspect. You will have to give her time to discover for herself and learn to feel that it is good between you and her, even if you have only known each other a short time. That does not take away from the fact that I can understand your haste. It suits you, that enthusiasm, that idea of 'let's go for her'!

Huib laughed about the way he expressed himself and was grateful that Anton knew him so well. "It's special, you'd expect me to have felt bad that you guys witnessed us, but I'm happy about it. You guys are the best witnesses! And yes, I have to give her time, just... I just don't know how to behave now. When we sit at the table together, I just try to act friendly, but I feel inside that I'm behaving unnaturally, like I have to put every word on a scale, and that doesn't feel right!"

"That was exactly the concern your mother shared with me. By the way, Joke and I told her what we witnessed, let me just be honest about that too. She was obviously happy for you guys, but could also well understand that Margreet felt overwhelmed and couldn't handle committing yet. I think you may try to just be yourself, easier said than done, I know, but still.... Do you long to go for Margreet, in the sense of wanting to give her everything she needs? Yes, don't you? She needs YOU, just who you are, not an unnatural copy of Huib Jansen, but the real Huib. So behave like you are used to as much as possible. Be crazy if that comes to mind, be serious, say what your heart tells you. And physical contact... limit it to little things that don't give her the feeling that you want to pull her in a direction that she doesn't want to go, can't go yet. I have seen you play with her hair, something like that, keep it nice and simple! But above all follow your heart, especially if there is something specific, if you notice that she is scared or something like that. Keep in mind that you don't want to hurt her, that you want the best for her, want to take care of her, love her, that's also in the little things. Do you think you can do anything with that?"

"Mentally I do," nodded Huib, "if I'm going to get it done in practice, we’ll see. Thanks anyway, the advice is really good, you confirm a sentence I almost heard out loud in my head the other day, to take care of her, help her, love her. I knew it was right then."

"Cool to hear, that's the best thing you can give her Huib! And as for her parents, I've been thinking about that too during this conversation. Can Joke and I stay another week? Maybe we can help a bit, be a sort of standby."

"Your room isn't booked next week yet, so that's not a problem. And I'd love it tremendously, you know, I experience you as a father and Joke is a fantastic woman, a woman to love. So yes, it would be nice to have you there. But is that possible with your work?"

"Joke a woman to love? Tell me about it! I'm glad your heart goes out to Margreet, otherwise I would have become jealous hahaha! No, I know what you mean! And our work is not a problem. As you know, Joke is upstairs working on her book. She has even more peace and quiet for it here than at home. And I can manage my business quite well from here, so we can easily add a week. Shall we do it like this then?"

"Gladly! I'll just extend your reservation in the system, and confirm Margreets parents' reservation right away!"

"Wait a day with that. People who want everyone to dance to their tune, should feel that you don't dance to their tune, that you determine your moment."

Huib looked at him in surprise: "That’s clearly a thought that comes from the inside. I've never thought about it like that before! You're right, I'll let them simmer in their homemade soapy water for a while longer!"

Smiling, the men walked toward the guest house; it was time to grab a bite to eat.

To chapter 33. Joke probes Margreets feelings about her parents

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