Huib drove on, thinking they would come across something along the highway where they could eat.

"There!" pointed out Margreet a moment later. "That's where I've been, they have delicious ice cream there!"

Huib didn't hesitate for a second, they would surely have other food there that was delicious too, and he was hungry, so... he threw out the turn signal and left the highway.

It was quiet, he parked near the restaurant. Inside he looked around, taking everything in. They had a buffet here, you could fill your own plate or dish, pass by a couple of cooks who were busy with large woks on a high fire. Margreet enjoyed being here again.

"Were you here with your parents?" asked Huib.

"Noooo, that's a waste of money young man! They don't do that! No, I was with a friend and her parents. Well, friend, sort of. In retrospect I can feel that I had no connection with her at all, but at least we got along. It wasn't annoying, let's put it that way, but she certainly wasn't a heart friend or anything like that either. I remember very well when we came here, and I was amazed. So many goodies, no idea what to choose. And now again I don't."

"I don't see fries or hamburgers here, but I do see someone making pizza. I think I'll put that guy to work."

"Good idea, I'll have pizza too," Margreet decided and together they walked over to the pizza guy. He had just finished with his previous customer, briefly wiped his things and looked at them kindly: "Fancy some pizza?" he asked, and when they both nodded, "A large, a medium or a small?"

"I would like a large one," Huib said.

"So do I," Margreet said, "but then I won't like ice cream afterwards, and I know your ice cream is delicious. I better take a medium one, I think."

"Come on Margreet, have a nice big pizza, then we just keep bulking out for a while until you are ready for that ice cream. By the way, I'd like to taste that too... Shall we?"

Margreet laughed and turned to the pizza chef, "Okay, make mine a big one too."

He nodded smiling and began to crush the first ball of dough on a plate, then the second. Meanwhile, Huib and Margreet got to choose what they all wanted on the pizza. The pizza baker spread tomato sauce on the pizzas and topped them with everything they had mentioned. Finally he sprinkled shredded cheese on top. Mischievously, he looked at Margreet: "Lots of cheese?"

She laughed, "Go ahead, delicious!"

He put some extra cheese on Huib's pizza too. "This is going to be a feast, guys!" He slid the pizzas into the oven, wrote "2 pizzas large" on a bill and said, "It's quiet now, you can use this bill to checkout in the meantime if you want, and pick up the pizzas afterwards. When it's busy, that's impossible to do, then no one oversees what's going on, but now you can." He handed the bill to Huib, with which he went to the checkout with a "be right back”. Margreet continued to wait in the pizza corner.

Surprisingly the baker started talking to her very personally: "You are lucky young lady, you have a cool boyfriend. He is the kind of man you can build on, who won't treat you like a slave or a slut, but as a woman, as his beloved. Such relationships are still far too rare. Have a great life together!"

He turned to the oven, checked the pizzas and took them out a moment later. He slid them onto large plates and handed them to Huib and Margreet.

"Eat well, dear friends, and enjoy each other! Hey girl, don't cry, did I say something wrong?"

Margreet shook her head, "No, not at all, your words moved me. You have seen it very well. Man, you are a blessing to your customers! And your pizzas look outstanding. Have a great day!"

"You both too!"

"What did he say when I went to checkout?" asked Huib curiously.

"Oh Huib, that was quite incredible!" Margreet tried to share as accurately as possible what the pizza baker had said.

"Wow! I can imagine that made you emotional. How special, that that man sensed that so..."

Huib sat down and looked at the baker again. He saw that he was still looking at them, with a big smile on his face. Huib smiled at him and raised his thumb. The baker put one hand like a fist in his other hand and held them above his head like a sign of victory.

Huib and Margreet laughed and then started eating the delicious pizza. It was really big, and well topped. Indeed, they both got well full of it.

Huib lowered himself a bit in his chair. "Just an idea: shall we have a cup of coffee first, and ice cream later?"

Margreet grinned, "You always have only great ideas!" She wanted to get up already, but Huib suggested that he would take their plates away and get some coffee.

While he was gone, Margreet looked around. Nearby sat a couple with a girl about three years old. She had blond long hair, bright blue eyes, just like the girl she had seen as a picture of their own little daughter. The girl looked at her, let herself slide off her chair and came over to her. She patted Margreet's belly with her little hand and said in a clear voice, "You are going to have a baby, a girl, just like me. She looks like me, and I like her!" She didn't wait for an answer, turned around and sat back down with her parents. Margreet stared at her with wide eyes.

The girl's mother saw it and came over to Margreet. "Did she say something nasty? She can just throw things out sometimes, no offense, but still..."

"Well no, she said something wonderful. I only just found out I'm pregnant, and your little daughter said, I'm having a baby, a girl, just like her. And that she looks like her, and that she likes her. How bizarre, it's exactly right too, I've had an image of it myself, and was just thinking how your daughter looks like the girl we're expecting."

Huib returned to her with the coffee. He nodded to the woman and Margreet told him what had happened. She suddenly got an idea. She grabbed in her bag for her cell phone. "Can I have your name and email address, and the name of your daughter? Then I'll send you a message when our little daughter is born." The woman liked it, shared her details. "Rosalie, what a cute name. We haven't talked about a name yet, it's all so early days. I'll keep you posted, I think this is such a special meeting!"

"This is strange for me," Margreet said as they sat down to drink coffee together a little later, "to want to keep in touch with totally unknown people. But there is something about that girl, she spoke so convincingly about our little daughter. I can hardly imagine, but it seems like those two already have a click with each other."

Huib raised his eyebrows: "I've never heard of such a thing, but why should I be surprised? If you live from your soul, and it sounds like that girl does too, then things come up that you have no idea about... I think it was a good idea of yours to exchange data. Nice for yourself, but probably for that girl and our little daughter too. I'm curious!"

To chapter 100. Going home

Or to the Table of contents