Margreet had just taken the books out of her bag and put them on the dining table. She heard the front door and called out, "Huib, come and have a look at this, I feel like royalty!" Huib was with her in no time, kissed her and asked why she felt so rich. As she flattened herself against him, she pointed to the books on the table. "Look, I found eight books that Annerieke doesn't have yet. Don't you like it too, the idea to make a gift of it?"

"Oh yes, that's certainly nice! But... on a different note, your parents have arrived and come with me." He turned her to them and felt her chill. However, she pulled herself together and walked over to them. Instead of giving them a kiss, as she should have always done when she still lived at home, she held out a hand to them, "Hello mom, ha dad, did you have a good trip?" she asked kindly.

Her mother immediately replied, "Let's not talk about that, it was terrible! And what's wrong with you? Are you suddenly too good for us that you don't even give us a kiss anymore? And why on earth are you living here? Here with that guy with his nauseating little tail? Are you really that immature to throw yourself into the arms of a stranger? You know what I really want? That at the end of this week, or even sooner, preferably today, you come home with us, for this can't go on!"

Margreet felt a deep anger well up inside her, but decided to remain friendly, kind but distant. "This dear fellow's name is Huib, and who he is to me I can hardly describe. He is my everything!"

Her mother immediately fell in with her, "And he certainly jumped right into bed with you? That's not how I raised you Margreet!"

"No, that's right, you didn't raise me that way. That was my own choice, just like everything around my relationship with Huib is my own choice. But on a different note... Would you like some coffee?"

"Well, that's the least of it," her mother snarled, while her father merely nodded.

"Good, then I'll go and make some, feel free to sit down!" said Margreet as she walked to the kitchen. Once there, she took a deep breath and exhaled gently. Then she started to make coffee.

Huib had followed her: "Do we have any cookies in the house?"

"Yes, there in that cookie jar, speculoos cookies."

"Yummy! Topper of me!" He gave her a kiss on the neck and briefly scratched through her hair. "You're doing great," he whispered, grabbing mugs from the cupboard.

"Just take those little mugs, they don't like lots and lots of coffee."

Huib chuckled, "But I do, wait I'll put them in front of them, then they can choose for themselves."

He walked into the room with a small and a large mug, "We like big mugs of coffee. Do you? Or do you prefer a smaller mug?"

"We don't like to overdo it, so just do a small mug for us!" replied Mieke.

"Fine, it's taken care of!"

In the kitchen he winked at Margreet, "Two small and two large mugs please." He set them on the tray, placed milk and sugar next to them and a jar of teaspoons. "Oh yes, and the speculoos, not to mention! Come and join us darlings!"

Margreet shot up in laughter, "Weirdo!"

"Uh uh! If you want to call me out, do it right, and call me Weird Huib, with capital letters, got it?"

Margreet laughed out loud, "You’re really nuts, Weird Huib!" And whispered, "That I can laugh, now, here, with them nearby..."

Huib smiled at her.

A moment later he walked with the tray into the room, followed by Margreet. She sat down in her rocking chair while Huib passed the coffee around and provided them with milk and sugar.

When Huib had gone around with the cookie jar, Margreet grabbed her knitting from her basket, "Look, I'm knitting a vest!"

Her father only nodded, didn't get a chance to say anything because her mother immediately responded, "What a bright color, you stand out way too much in that, Margreet. I'm not used to that from you. I like the kind of wool by the way, is it real wool?"

"I have found out that I love bright colors, so I am very happy with this! And yes, it is real wool, I got it from Huib and his mother."

"You see, that's what I mean!" Mieke shot furiously. "With such expensive wool you have lured her into your trap! Real wool costs a fortune. You hardly know her and you give her something so expensive. A premeditated plan, don't you think John?"

Despite the bizarre accusation, Huib shot into laughter: "Then I must disappoint you. A friend of my mother works at the thrift store. She called to say that they had received this wool, and she knew that my mother loves handicrafts. And then we just knew, that Margreet felt like knitting. My mother asked her friend to hold back that wool for her, and I then picked it up. We had put the box open in the kitchen, so Margreet saw it immediately. She was so enthusiastic, thought it was beautiful wool, and asked what Annerieke was going to make of it. Nothing at all, because we gave it to Margreet as a present. Her reaction was great! She couldn't believe it was for her, but she was so happy with it in the end!"

"Well, that may be, but I do think it's a very striking color. But something else, since when have you been living in this house?"

"Since a few days," Margreet replied.

"And you haven't taken the time to clean up properly yet? You knew we were coming, didn't you?"

"Yes, I knew, but I don't live for cleaning, I clean something every now and then when I feel it's necessary, nothing else."

"Unbelievable! When you were still living at home, I thought your household was going to be perfect. Your plants always did well, and you kept things clean in your room. And now... only two plants, and they don't look so good. And it's not really clean in here. Hopefully you'll do a better job at the guesthouse!"

Huib chuckled, "I'm not one to talk to my plants, and Margreet hasn't had the chance to do that yet."

He turned to Margreet, "We need to talk about whether we want plants in the house. It's such an ancient Dutch habit, but that doesn't make it an obligation."

Margreet nodded thoughtfully. "It's special, I love be outside in the garden, but inside I don't think much of it. If we come across a nice plant, I'll certainly take care of it, but I'm not out to fill the whole window sill with it."

"Then where are you supposed to get your oxygen in the house?" her mother asked.

"From the outside, airing the house for a while every day, not according to a strict plan, I'm not into that, but every now and then I just feel like getting some fresh air and open some windows, even if it's freezing. It will be warm again here soon enough." Huib replied.

"How old is this house?" asked John.

"Only a few years, we started it five years ago, drawing up building plans, asking permission and all. And then my father and I built it with a few other men. That took quite a bit of time, because it all had to be done in the free hours. A year ago I was able to move in. I'm not quite finished with the interior, I think that wall over there is still bare, for example. But that doesn't matter. I think it's great that we now can look further together at what we still like to buy. There's no rush, we'll see what we click with."

Margreet pointed to the bare wall and looked at Huib: "I don't know exactly how yet, but I've had several ideas for a tapestry. I've thought of a landscape, or fire like in the fireplace, butterflies... I haven't decided yet, but I think I know how I'm going to make it: embroidery on a sturdy linen fabric or something, I think that would give me a lot of pleasure."

Huib nodded, looking at her lovingly, "I'd love for you to make something like that, if you really like doing it. It will be a big job, I guess, but as long as you enjoy doing it, that's just cool!"

"Hardly any cleaning, but wasting your time with handicrafts... I don't understand any of this, I’m so disappointing of you!" Mieke complained.

"Yes, if I were to fill the day with all that should be done according to other people, I would never get around to the things I like, the things that are valuable to me. And cleaning is not valuable to me, then I would feel like a hamster in a mill. You go on and on, and it's never finished! In the guest house it feels different than at home, there I do it for our guests. Here at home I could do it for Huib, if he would like that, but he doesn't care, he prefers that I do what my heart desires. So... at home I enjoy this knitting and reading."

"And from me, right? Right yeah?" acted Huib as if he was afraid he was going to get caught up in it.

"Oh poor you," Margreet laughed, "surely from you too, especially you!"

"Unbelievable," her mother grumbled, immediately interpreting Margreets words in her own way, "all you guys can think about is sex."

"We?" acted Huib in surprise. "We never think about sex. Sex is for people who are in a hurry and think mainly of themselves, they have sex with each other for a while, and they don't give a damn if they love the other person in the process. They do it mainly to be satisfied themselves. Honestly, that's nothing for us! We enjoy each other, when we're at the guesthouse, when we're cozy here in the room, and yes, in the bedroom too, but that goes a lot deeper than having sex."

Margreet nodded vehemently, "That’s true yes, enjoying each other, loving each other has nothing to do with sex, it has to do with being with each other, simple being with each other, and sharing yourself with each other. Damn, it frustrates me, that I don't even have enough words to describe something as beautiful as our relationship!"

"Well now Margreet, be quiet, you don't need such words and such a tone! Control yourself!"

Now it was Margreet's turn to react violently, "No mom, I don't need to control myself at all, I am allowed to be wonderfully myself and if something frustrates me, than it’s just how it is! Our relationship, Huib and I, has everything to do with our hearts, with our souls, with a click that goes even deeper than falling in love and loving. As if a magnet with primal force has drawn us to each other and has riveted us together. Unbelievable, but really true!"

Her mother pulled a face that showed she thought it was all just nonsense, her father had a slight frown above his eyes, as if he was thinking deeply about it.

Mieke stood up: "John, I think we should start unpacking our suitcases. Margreet, you're free in the afternoon huh. Tomorrow afternoon we want to go out with you, pleasantly together. I'll look something up in the brochures in a minute."

John suggested: "Maybe Margreet has already gotten to know the area and wants to show us something."

"No, I haven't," Margreet replied, "I'm taking it easy on that neighborhood exploration. And I can't go with you tomorrow. I have an appointment with someone in a village down the road. And Wednesday afternoon I have an appointment too. And Thursday afternoon is still a long way off."

"I'm disappointed in you for that too," her mother attacked, "that you haven't reserved any time for us at all!"

"And maybe I'm even disappointed that you force yourself on me without asking me if I'm in the mood, and that you criticize everything... so let me be honest: I just don't feel like hanging out with you. Pleasantly together, did you call it like that? There is really nothing pleasant about it! Well, I guess that's clear then, you don't have to ask me about it anymore," Margreet answered, outwardly calm, but inwardly quite upset.

"Shame on you!" cried Mieke, reddened by anger. "We are your parents! We raised you! Where do you get the nerve to talk to us like that!"

"Mom, dad, I don't feel like this, I just don't feel like having such a disgusting discussion. I wish you a good time in the guesthouse and hope you will discover beautiful places in the area! But I won't be part of it..." Margreet turned and walked to the kitchen. Huib stayed with her parents for a while until they stepped outside. He saw them hesitating about the direction and pointed them, "There is the guesthouse, if you follow this path you will come to the front door. You already got the key to the guest house, right?"

He got no answer, they were already walking away in the direction he had pointed. He closed the door and watched them for a moment longer. What a bunch of wretched people, destructive characters! But how pathetic too, the wealth he had with Margreet was completely unknown to them. He turned and went to the kitchen, where he saw his great love hanging against the counter, with her head against a kitchen cabinet. He turned her toward him and pulled her into his arms.

He calmly told her what he had thought about her parents just now and concluded: "With you, I feel so rich, so incredibly rich! Your parents have never known you, and they don't know what they miss, who they miss! They also really have no idea what they are missing in their marriage, they have been married for years, but have absolutely no heart for each other or for other people. How on earth did you manage to grow up to be such an amazing woman with such a couple of parents?!"

"I didn't manage that. Remember how I was when I came here? Scared, shy, insecure, and I was sure I was worthless."

"That's right yes, the brokenness radiated from you on all sides. But something in you has risen up, something has been ignited or so, breaking down a lot of that crusty exterior."

Margreet smiled at his description, "And I owe that to you, to Annerieke, to Sjaak, not to mention Anton and Joke. But especially to your love for me, to that incredible connection between us. It makes me alive! And I do feel that there is still a lot of pain. The way my mother just did, was really painful again. I also found it quite difficult. So there will still be a lot of healing needed. But on the other hand, I also noticed that my attitude was already quite different than before. In the past, just a few weeks ago, I didn't dare say anything that could make my mother angry, in that time I was like a slave... to my parents no less! If we ever get children, I want them to grow up free, to become who they already are inside. I hope I will be a good mother to them..."

Huib smiled at her desire, "Just that desire, that you desire freedom for them, that makes you a good mother in advance. You will probably not be perfect, but the direction your heart points you is the best there is! Do you have the energy to help Annerieke in the kitchen or shall we call her that we can't do it today?"

"Hmm, on the one hand it’s tempting to call off, on the other hand I like helping her and learning from her. Shall we go there together?"

Huib nodded, "Let's do that, pleasantly together!"

To chapter 70. Mieke and John among the guests

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