18. To reclaim the lost love
July 6th
Harri Olli was thinking. He was at work, sat at the cafeteria, the fist on his cheek. Something was wrong in his life. Since he was back from his mission to Greenland his wife Nina seemed to be bored of him. In the evening they were each on their computer and were talking via Messenger. Very often she was going to bed later than him. He also noticed that Matti Hautamäki visited her wife more than once. He hoped that she was not cheating on him with that guy. George Siltonton sat in front of him. “Oh be aware, Harri is thinking,” he said with his British accent. He was 53 years old with glasses, dark brown hair, long teeth and a squared face. “Do you think I’m attractive?” Harri asked, just exiting his dreaming world. “Sorry I’m not gay,” George answered quite surprised. “No, honestly. If you were a woman, will you think that I’m attractive?” “Your request is pretty strange. I’ve to imagine myself in the body of a woman, to modify my way of thinking, my habits,…” “George, it’s a simple question. I don’t ask you to be a transvestite,” he specified. “You are… hum… a normal Finnish guy. Cleverer than the average.” “I mean physically,” he insisted. “Sorry, you should ask someone else,” George admitted that he was not skilled for that task.
In the elevator Harri looked at his reflection. His hair was a mess. It was pretty long and some were missing. That morning he didn’t shave well. While he looked closer he discovered some new wrinkles. It was decided: after work he would go to the hair dresser. The first time since… a year!
Before to go home, he went to the supermarket and bought a shaver and foam. He went to the restroom of the shopping mall and started to shave. The men who entered were looking at him strangely. What was so strange to see a man shaving his beard? Harri though that 90% of people were really stupid and he was glad to be in the other 10%. If he was shaving his hair or anything else, that could be shocking. But not a beard.
When he arrived at home he smiled and brought flowers to his wife who was surprise. “Something to celebrate?” she asked. “Our love,” he simply replied and kissed her. “Don’t cook tonight. We’re going out.” “It’s a really good idea. We haven’t done it since a while. Oh and you cut your hair!” she finally noticed. Harri smiled but was waiting for a quicker remark. He made a huge effort.
He wanted that that evening looked like the first ones they had together when they met. Unfortunately for Harri, nothing went really as planned. The waitress brought the wrong meal but he didn’t protest. The problem was that after few bits his mouth was in fire. He was not used to eat spicy food. “Are you okay Harri?” his wife asked when she saw that his face was red. “Yes..” he replied in a low voice. But he was a man and men are not complaining. He knew many of them who ate spicy food. Why not him? After that painful experience, they went to a bar to have a last drink. Harri thought that they were too old to go to a club. They were sat with their glass looking at the other people who were in large groups. They were probably waiting that the discos opened. Harri was thinking that his reclaiming idea was a fiasco. He had to find a new idea to save that evening. He looked outside and saw that there was still some light. The midnight sun was very helpful. “Come with me. I will show you something,” Harri broke the silence.
They walked through the center and jumped in the boat to Suomenlinna. “Oh Harri, this is a great idea! To spend the end of the evening with you on an island.” Harri was proud of him. He hugged her and looked at the landscape. The sea was dark but the sky was shading from light to dark blue. They arrived fifteen minutes later on the island. They were the only passengers of the ferry. They hold their hands and walked to the extremity of the island. There it was colder and the wind was stronger. They sat on a bench and looked at the landscape. “Harri, I’m cold,” Nina complained. “It’s your imagination. It’s because of the wind. Think that we are on a beach in Thailand. That day there is no tourist. We are together. Some boats are fishing further away,…” “It’s not a joke. I’m cold,” she interrupted. He put his arm around her shoulder and warmed her arm by moving his hand. But it wasn’t enough. She was still cold and it was late. “I think that we should go home,” she suggested. “No, not yet. Let’s wait for the sunrise. It’s at 3:18,” he explained. “But it not midnight and I’m freezing! Harri I want to go home. Please,” she begged. Finally he accepted to walk back to the harbor. But there they had a bad surprised. “What? The next boat is at 5!” she said desperate. “You can swim,” he suggested but she didn’t like his joke. “Please find another idea,” she begged. He thought a bit and found two solutions: to fall in the rocks and to call the ambulance or to borrow a boat. He chose the second option which was more romantic. His wife would call him a hero. “Stay here. I’m coming soon,” he announced, hiding a smile.
Nina really wondered what Harri was doing. He had been strange the whole evening. Or more precisely since he came back from work. What was he trying to do? To impress her? For what? But at that moment she only wished to be in her warm bed. The wind was quite cold and she didn’t have good clothes to be on that island that late.
More than half an hour later she saw a small boat passing under the bridge and coming to her. “Harri? But what are you doing? Are you crazy?” she said. “Jump in the boat. I drive you home,” he said. She sat on the dock and jumped to the boat which moved a lot. “You’re safe,” he said with a smile before to start rowing.
“Isn’t it romantic?” Harri asked when they were half way to the city. “Look at the light reflections in the sea. The stars are beautiful tonight and we are alone,” he commented. “Great,” she answered with the arms crossed. She was really freezing and she wondered what would happen next. Nothing was surprising with Harri. “If we were not married I would ask you now,” he said with a smile. She smiled back but didn’t dare to tell him that the answer would be negative.
When they almost arrived in Kaivopuisto the boat hit a rock and the passengers fell to the water which was pretty cold. Luckily it wasn’t deep. Just one meter. “What a brilliant idea! You’re a genius!” Nina screamed to her husband almost crying. “Forgive me. I was distrait. I was not looking where I was going. Nina! Come back!” he begged but she was walking to the shore.
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