Just as they were going downstairs, they heard someone come in through the utility room. A moment later, Annerieke stood with them in the living room. Uncomfortably, Elly and Annerieke looked at each other. It had been a few months since they had seen each other, when Erik had died. And then their contact had been fleeting, because their friendship had already waned a few years.

Annerieke stepped up to Elly, arms wide. They embraced each other. "How nice to see you again, Elly!" Annerieke welcomed her back into her life. "Why on earth did we lose each other? We’ve always had such a good friendship!"

Elly looked at Annerieke smiling: "I started to withdraw. As much as I loved, and still love, Martin, looking at you and Erik made me sad for my own marriage. Martin and I were far from having what you had. And I so longed for it, for such a relationship as you had. I did think about talking to you about it, but that was too difficult. On the one hand, I was afraid you would feel that I had fallen in love with Erik, which was totally out of the question. And on the other hand it felt like complaining about Martin. So I decided to just go all out myself, I would be the best wife for him. That's how I became his Cinderella and our marriage became more and more deformed. Martin changed, too. He was, I think because of his job, already a bit of a man who was above me. And as I began to act more and more like a slave, that difference only grew stronger. Anyway, on Monday we were stopped, and I'm hopeful that a lot is going to change. Maybe we should just catch up together, would you?"

Annerieke was happy, genuinely happy: "Yes, very much, as far as I'm concerned already tomorrow evening, if you can."

"Yeah sure, no problem. I'll come to you. By the way, I have a nice piece of news: I may paint a wall of the children's room above. When we were upstairs a moment ago, I got such a nice picture of birds and butterflies, under the theme of Freedom. And Margreet likes it when I paint it. For me, that's really a step out of my bondage!"

Margreet, meanwhile, had brought a pot of paint from upstairs and showed it to Annerieke. "This will be the color of the window frames and the doorposts and probably the door itself."

Annerieke stroked the light-lilac label with her forefinger, as if to caress it. "What a soft color, really pretty Margreet! By the way, do you know I still have Huib's crib? And some more stuff? If you like it, you're welcome to use it. But if you'd rather buy something new, that's okay too."

"I don't necessarily need something new. I'll come and see it with Huib sometime."

While Margreet went to get another coffee, Elly sat down next to Lisa on the couch. Lisa put her hand on Elly's arm, "I'm so happy for you, that you also get to start a kind of new life, for yourself, rediscover yourself, and also together with Martin."

Elly gave her a gentle squeeze of her hand, "Me too Lisa, me too. It seems like a new fashion, everyone here seems to be making a new beginning."

"Well, not me yet, I'm not ready for that," Annerieke interjected.

Elly shook her head. "Maybe not yet with another man, I can understand that, but in our friendship."

"Yes, that's different, but equally wonderful! And also these two daughters that were just thrown into my lap. You're right Elly, it does seem like a new fashion, as if it's flowing over us like a tidal wave of healing. I don't know why that is, but I love it! Look at Margreet now, and Lisa... what a wealth in our boarding family!"

.

It was so enjoyable, that Annerieke discovered quite late that she should have already been busy in the kitchen. Margreet jumped up: "Dear ones, I'll chase you all out of the house, so I can go and help Annerieke. Then the guests won't have to suffer!"

Cheerfully the whole club walked towards the guesthouse, where Elly said goodbye to them, with a 'see you tomorrow night' to Annerieke, and the promise to come by Margreet's again soon to talk about the mural. Margreet and Lisa followed Annerieke to go help her together.

Dinner was ready perfectly on time!

To chapter 85. Anton and Joke get the big news

Or to the Table of contents