During dinner it was once again homey in the kitchen. Sjaak was pleased that he did not feel overly tense. He listened to the others and answered now and then. He asked Margreet about the Hydrangeas and Lavender and Lisa if she had succeeded in picking a nice bouquet. Annerieke told that Sita liked the flowers in their room so much, she loved Hydrangeas. Sjaak responded that he had met them at the Hydrangeas. Margreet explained how she had hung the Lavender bunches in the linen closets. And Lisa told what flowers she had chosen and had ended up having to divide among three vases because it was too much for two. She looked a little bit guilty at Margreet for having grabbed an extra vase. In response, she got a wink and knew it was okay.

After the meal Margreet and Huib helped Annerieke with the tour around the guests, to ask them if everything was to their liking, and then started to clean up.

Margreet came to the table of the new guests. She introduced herself to both people, to which Sita asked her, "Did you take care of those beautiful Hydrangeas in our room?"

Margreet nodded, "Yes, I picked them this afternoon in the garden, or cut them actually. I will be in your room every morning when you are having breakfast to do the standard chores and then I will take care of the flowers as well."

"Do you know that you can also dry them when they are completely faded?" asked Sita.

Margreet nodded, "That's my plan too, and then I'll put them in the hall and upstairs on the landing in those thick vases that are empty there now. I just bought those vases this afternoon, I was as happy as a child, those shades..."

"Just like the original flower color..." Cees, who had seen the beautiful vases, interrupted her.

"Yes exactly, that's what I love about them!"

"And did we understand well that you are Annerieke's daughter-in-law-to-be?" asked Cees further.

"That's right yes," beamed Margreet, "I'm going to marry that young man who was also just walking here cleaning up, her son Huib!"

"Yes yes, we do know Huib, from a previous time we stayed here. Wonderful Margreet, a wonderful prospect!" Sita thought.

Margreet nodded enthusiastically and took the empty plates. She put them on the counter and reported her conversation with Sita and Cees. It felt good to Annerieke that Margreet had had such a relaxed contact with them.

.

After dinner Sjaak stayed for a while. Huib had said he had to do something in the barn and had gone outside. Sjaak watched as Annerieke and Margreet filled the dishwasher and washed the large pans by hand.

Lisa had also stayed, wondering what was expected of her. As she struggled to figure out what she could do, she asked, "Annerieke, maybe I can do something for you too?"

Annerieke shook her head: "No for sure, certainly not the first few days, you only have to do what you like. That is what you need the most!”

"I would like to play the violin, but wouldn't that be a nuisance for the guests?

"I don't expect so, it's not very noisy here. I'll just keep an eye on it myself and ask the guests here and there if it bothers them. Just try it out Lisa, and enjoy it!"

"Have you been playing the violin for long?" Sjaak asked.

"I bought it in the time when I didn't know Henk yet, first a violin and a while later a cello as well. They are both electric, but I always played without amplification because Henk said it was too much noise. I never had lessons, I tried to find out everything myself. I can't vibrate very well yet, you know, than they make the fingers that press the strings go back and forth, which makes the sound fuller, more beautiful. But I haven't gotten to that point yet. I did look up how to do it on the Internet first, how other people did it, but then decided to find my own way in it. That was very new for me, I was always very dependent on what other people said and did. And I was used to doing everything exactly the way it was supposed to be done. But I just didn't feel like practicing, practicing, practicing every day. I just wanted to have fun with it. That did take a while. In the beginning it was pretty hard to have fun with it, I understand people call violin playing cat's whine. But it's so much better now, I enjoy doing it now."

"Cool!" Sjaak responded. "I play the piano myself, also an electric one, or actually a digital one, in which the sound of several well-known grand pianos have been imitated. I only use one, I just love that one. And for me it’s all about what I play and how I play. I don't play from sheet music, like you I just tried out myself, without lessons, and at one time I got to the point where I was able to play a melody that I got in my mind, just like that. Usually I only get a small piece of a melody. That then keeps repeating itself in my mind... and then I start playing that, and as I play it, it grows out. In the beginning it was a mess, there was no line in it. Now that's coming up more and more. It's a great outlet for me! But Lisa, I won't keep you any longer, just enjoy your violin! I'm going home again."

"Will you come here for coffee tonight, Sjaak?" Annerieke asked.

Sjaak thought for a moment... "I could do that yes, I feel quite comfortable here."

Annerieke smiled at him: "Great, see you later then!"

Lisa got up as well, but still had a question for Annerieke: "Margreet told me that she borrowed books from you..."

Annerieke complemented her: "And that seemed to suit you too? You're quite right, but those books Margreet borrows from me are very addictive. Once you've read something by Nora Roberts, you want to read them all! But that's no problem, because I have them all, almost all, I don't have all the crime stories, but I have all the novels. I'm almost done, Lisa, if you want you can walk with me in a minute to pick out a few."

A moment later, they walked together toward her house. Lisa felt overwhelmed by the large, full bookcase and was amazed that there were so many books by that one author. She wondered where to start. Annerieke guided her a bit: "This group here, these are all series. And from here I have put the separate titles. In the series, there's quite a bit of legends, folk tales, and magic. So if you like that, you should be in that corner."

Lisa was surprised, "I've never read anything about that before! Did she just incorporate that into a story? Or are they more like documentaries?"

"No, all stories, all wonderfully readable. I did take notes on several books quite often, because otherwise I couldn't remember everything I needed for reading the story. Do you have pen and paper in your room?"

"Yes I do, I brought that from home this morning. Just this morning... how much has happened today! And most important of all... I escaped from a cage!"

"Yes you did, and now you get to learn to fly!"

"Exactly yes, Margreet already said I would become a free butterfly."

Annerieke laughed, "Margreet has a bit of experience by now! Do you keep in mind, though, that your cage time isn't quite over yet? And I don't even mean the divorce procedure, but more the fact that you have been so wounded inside, and got stuck in those prison convictions. You haven't lost that right now. It will come, and if you go through a deep period, you can always ask us for help, call us. I'm sure every one of us would love to help you through it."

"I'm curious what that's going to look like, how I'm going to experience that... exciting!" Lisa looked at the bookcase again. "I think I'm going to try this series, 'Templeton House', about dreams... I've had dreams as a child, desires for the future... maybe it will help me to read this series. Is that possible?" Questioningly she looked at Annerieke.

"It's just so possible. Feel free to take the whole series at once. And if, on second thought, you don't like the books after all, come and swap them for a few individual novels or something. Just what you like!"

"Thank you!" Lisa said, picking up the other books in the series. For a moment she hesitated, then wrapped her free arm around Annerieke. "Thank you, you're like a dear mother to me!"

"You should know, I would have loved to have had more children, but it was no longer possible medically. So I had to be happy with Huib, and I was, for sure, I love that guy, but for years I found it very difficult that I could not get pregnant anymore. And now, within two weeks I suddenly got two daughters. First Margreet and now you! What a wealth!" She pulled Lisa close to her for a moment. "Have fun with your music and your books!"

.

Sjaak saw that it was already almost eight o'clock, coffee time at the guesthouse. Coffee with cake from Annerieke, always delicious! He grabbed his winter coat and went outside. As he strolled leisurely across the grass, he suddenly heard Lisa's violin. Under her window he lingered, listening. It was an unfamiliar melody, a melody that touched him. A melancholy melody, interspersed with fierce strokes of the bow, as if she was screaming out her pain. Tears leapt into his eyes. How was it possible, the same thing he always did on the piano, she was now doing on her violin. He could just hear, feel what she felt and played on her violin.

He only noticed Huib and Margreet when they were already close by. They didn’t say anything, but stood next to him listening. Only when Lisa stopped a deep sigh escaped Sjaak: "How beautiful that was! Straight from her heart, don't you think?"

As stealthily as possible, he wiped the tears from his eyes with his handkerchief.

Huib put his hand on Sjaaks shoulder, "Just what you say, she let her violin scream out her own pain. It really felt very painful, but in a beautiful way. Let her throw the stuff out that way. Good for her, beautiful for us! I'm going inside people, it's too cold for me to stand here any longer!"

Together they walked to the back door. They hung up their coats in the laundry room, exchanged their shoes for the slippers they had put there, and walked toward the kitchen.

In front of the kitchen door Sjaak hesitated. He let the young couple go in, but waited for Lisa, who he heard coming down the attic stairs. Lisa was surprised to see him standing there.

"I waited for you," Sjaak said, "to tell you that what you played was so incredibly beautiful. I stood outside, listening for a while... you played your heart out, violently. But that’s what I like, I like to do that myself. For myself... I actually love that the most, it's real, from the inside, like a scream." Unconsciously he had put his hand on her shoulder. "Go on with that Lisa, it helps when the pain gets too intense."

At that moment he became aware of his hand on her shoulder. He quickly withdrew it and tried saying lightly:  "Coffee and cake, come!"

But Lisa stopped him, "Wait a minute, just a minute, thank you for your words, Sjaak. It touched me what you said, it's true, I was overwhelmed with pain and frustration, but crying out through my violin was enough for this moment to get through it in a good way. And now coffee and cake!" she added, laughing. She opened the kitchen door and stepped inside, with Sjaak in her wake.

To chapter 60. Pleasant working together

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