Margreet had a bad night. First she couldn't sleep, and then once she was asleep, she had a nightmare about a big wolf chasing her through a dark forest. The fear with which she woke up made it hard for her to get back to sleep afterward. Thoughts of the coming afternoon, of the arrival of her parents came through her fear, making her feel that together they were the wolf in the forest, chasing her, to tear her apart. She was afraid of losing herself again because of their negative behavior. And she was afraid, that the other guests would be bothered by them. Fortunately, they would only be staying for a midweek, more than enough! But that didn't make her fear any less.

As she lay worrying, her body was also restless, waking Huib up. He crawled over to her and put his arm around her. He said nothing, only sniffed through her hair and stroked her troubled, emotional belly. He felt her slowly settle down. Her breathing became more even and finally deeper. She had fallen asleep. Huib smiled, happy for her. He remained lying as he lay, so she was able to sleep continually, and he thought that he was lying wonderfully like this, and might fall asleep this way as well.

.

The morning passed as usual, with the difference that Margreet suffered from restlessness in her thoughts. Annerieke and Huib left her on her own a little bit, but together with Lisa they were always near her.

In the hour before the coffee the girlfriends strolled together in the garden. They walked all over the estate, right up to the edge of the forest. Leaning on the fence, they stared between the trees. All this time they had said nothing. Even when they walked back slowly, they were silent.

In the washroom, they exchanged their dirty shoes for their slippers. They looked at each other and were not surprised that both their eyes were full of tears.

"We didn't say anything, just sauntered and stood staring, but how wonderful this was, so together. As if we understood each other without words..." Lisa stammered, as they grabbed each other's hands.

"Yes, so beautiful, I feel completely relaxed now!" Margreet confirmed happily.

They let go of each other again and walked to the kitchen.

"Always nice, having coffee together," Margreet said when everyone was present. "This is family, real family. I am so happy with all of you! Yes, also with you Sjaak!" she said especially to him when she saw that he looked at her frowning, incredulous.

"Ah, sorry Margreet, I still have to get used to that idea." He took a large sip of coffee, in which he promptly choked. Coughing and spluttering he rushed to the sink. "So, that was a pleasant interlude," he said when his airways had calmed down a bit. "Haste makes waste indeed, especially with drinking coffee."

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For lunch, Annerieke had made a salad with some leftovers from the previous day's dinner. Even though they were leftovers, she had managed to make a nice salad that also tasted delicious. "Poor chickens, we are eating their goodies! By the way, I haven't seen them yet Annerieke, do they have a henhouse behind your house?" Lisa asked.

"Yes, next to my veranda and patio. I'd prefer to let the chickens roam free, but I don't dare. A few years ago they said that a wolf had been spotted a long way into the forest. I would hate it if he could get hold of my chickens! Erik has made a sturdy coop with a large runout. That wolf can hardly even scare them, because he can't get to them. In fact, Erik made a double wall of sturdy mesh, so a wolf wouldn't even be able to touch the mesh that the chickens are directly behind. The coop is so big, I can go in there standing up, and I can also go to their outside area with ease to clean there every now and then. Oh well, you just have to come and see, so you can see what I mean. Or come together, ladies, I saw you going out together this morning too. I just felt how you clicked with each other. Extraordinary! Particularly beautiful!"

To chapter 66. To the police station

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