During dinner her parents had asked if they could come to see the desk. Margreet was bothered by it, but she didn't dare to say no. This made her feel how good it was that, at least for now, she would have no more contact with them after their midweek here.

As they walked home, she informed Huib of their request. He shrugged. "I don't like it at all, but it's okay. We'll struggle through it. I'm glad you made so many plans this week. The less they have a chance to harass you, the better."

They were barely in the barn, then her parents were already coming in. "So, this is your craft shack," Mieke observed disparagingly. John was a little more positive: "You have wonderful space for your hobby here." The angry look from Mieke to John did not escape the young couple.

"Yes, I certainly have the space here. I can keep the pieces of wood I have left over here until I can use them for something else. And if I need to buy wood again for a new project, I can put it there." He pointed to the other side of the barn. "That's my stock corner, so to speak. And the actual work I do here in the middle. I like that best so far."

"I can understand that," John said. "And so this is your desk, Margreet?"

"There aren't even handles on the drawers, how do you expect to open them?" asked Mieke snidely.

"That's where those knobs come in, the ones we were talking about, knobs with a gemstone," Margreet told her, as Huib pulled his first knob out of his pocket to show. "We went to that store this afternoon. Unbelievable, so many gemstones. And that saleswoman makes jewelry from them herself, like my ring." She spoke on as she held up her hand to show the ring. "We chose brown gemstones. They're called Tigers Eye, they have these little stripes in them just like in the eye of a tiger. They're beautiful. So in every knob will be a Tigers Eye, all the same and yet all different."

Her mother looked at her disdainfully, but remained silent. Her father nodded, wanting to say something, but at that moment there was a knock at the door. They turned to see who was coming. Margreet saw only Lisa at first, and a moment later she saw Sjaak appear behind her. "We've come to admire your desk Margreet," Sjaak told them. He had seen the desk just today, but did not want to confess that Lisa had suggested the idea and he had felt absolutely no need to say that he had already seen it. He enjoyed being around her and had decided to go with her.

"Is it convenient for us to come now?" asked Lisa cautiously. "Since you already have your parents visiting..."

"Are you guys a couple too?" Mieke unabashedly attacked her. "So like seeing each other and getting into bed with each other, like those two here." The latter with an evil nod to Margreet and Huib.

Lisa was visibly startled, pulling away snow-white. She turned around and stumbled out, ran into the garden in the direction of the guesthouse. She wanted to get away, away from those horrible people. Only in the washroom she realized that Sjaak had come after her. Lovingly he looked at her. "Oh girl…” he said softly and opened his arms invitingly. If she wanted to, she could step into his embrace to be comforted. She hesitated. Especially Sjaak with whom she had been associated in such an inferior way... But there was nothing he could do about it! She took an uncertain, anxious step forward. Sjaak wrapped his one arm loosely around her while his other hand laid her head against his shoulder and stroked her hair. He said nothing, just held and caressed her, hoping she wouldn't notice that his heart was starting to beat harder and faster.

At first Lisa didn't notice that either, she was too preoccupied with the mess of her feelings. The humiliating remark had come in so violently that she felt like she was on tilt. Thanks to Sjaak she slowly calmed down. She remained standing as she was, in his embrace.

At that moment she realized how his heart was racing. She felt it against her cheek. For a moment she felt a new wave of fear, but it quickly subsided, because deep inside she knew she was safe with Sjaak. He did nothing to overwhelm her, to overpower her. He was completely calm and only seemed to want to comfort her. She decided to ignore his wildly beating heart. He was there for her. For her! That was very different from him wanting to take her, selfishly and perhaps as violently as Henk.

Phew, she didn't want to think about Henk. Sjaak, he was good for her, comforting, calming and safe, and that was what she wanted to focus her thoughts on.

Although Sjaak had no idea what was going on in her mind, he did notice that it was going up and down emotionally. After bemoaning the fact that his heart was racing for a while, he now found peace with it. Lisa didn't seem to mind, maybe she didn't even notice. Even when she seemed to have relaxed completely, he continued to hold her. Not forcibly, not firmly, still loosely. That gave Lisa the opportunity to choose: stay with him a little longer or step out of his embrace.

To her own surprise, she remained standing, until the voices of Margreets parents entering the guesthouse through the front door reached her ears. With anxious eyes she raised her head, looked at Sjaak. "Be at peace, dear girl, they probably won't come here, this is private space, work space, there is a sign on their side of the door. I expect them to go to their room, or to the living room down here. To the living room, do you hear?" She nodded, glancing fleetingly at her watch. "It's almost coffee time," she whispered.

Sjaak expected her to disengage from him now, but to his amazement and surprise, she put her head against his shoulder again. He put his hand on her head again, pressing her head against him for a moment in affirmation. His arm around her waist also lost something of its loose attitude.

Lisa felt it, but it hardly seemed to get through to her. She realized only one thing: never before had she felt as safe as with this simple man, this man without fuss, the gardener, who had golden hands for his work. Until now he had been for her only the gardener, Sjaak who belonged to the guesthouse family. Tonight, Mieke's rotten remark made him a threat for a moment, but his own behavior here in the washroom proved him a safe haven for her.

For a moment it flashed through her: a man like Sjaak... She pushed it away before her thoughts could shape it further. She was married, on the start of divorce. The flash came back, however, a little more intense: a man like Sjaak...! She began to breathe more restlessly, became excited and insecure.

Sjaak sensed it, "What's happening Lisa? What's going on?" Carefully he moved his hand from her hair to her chin and moved her face toward him. She looked into his eyes and saw something she had only seen in Huibs eyes when he looked at Margreet.

She blinked her eyes. "I don't know... sorry, I don't know... All kinds of things are happening... but I don't know... I don't know what it is... I don't know what to do with it."

She was annoyed by her stammering. She couldn't articulate the jumble of thoughts in one line.

She looked at him again when he asked, "Would you like to try sharing something about it?"

Hastily she shook no: "No, sorry, no, I can't, I'm all confused all of a sudden, I... I don't understand anything!"

She detached herself from him, skittishly. "You go ahead to the kitchen, I'll be right there, I just need to..."

"Are you sure? Are you sure I can leave you alone? Will you be all right?"

Lisa nodded vigorously, supporting herself on the washing machine with both hands.

"Fine, then I'll go to the kitchen, but if you stay away too long, I'll come and see if you're really okay, okay?"

Lisa nodded again, without looking up at him. Sjaak left the washroom and went to the kitchen.

To chapter 77. Lisa shares her discovery with Margreet

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