Page 54 of Entwined in Norway

‘Absolutely.’

With food and an extra layer in his backpack and sunscreen and water in Ida’s, they rode the gondola to the top of the mountain. It was stunning. Instead of the huge peaks of granite that bordered the fjords in Bergen, these were flatter hills that joined together without deep valleys in between. The trails were well-marked with something for everyone, whether it was a short walk around the top of the hill they’d arrived on, or a longer walk that covered several peaks.

‘We’ll go on this one,’ Ida said, pointing on the map to an eight kilometre walk. ‘It’s pretty flat, but it has superb views over the river.’

‘I’m good to go,’ he said, feeling confident.

Being such a lovely day meant that the summit was quite crowded, but once they headed away on their chosen trail, there were fewer people and the ones they came across greeted them with a ‘Hei!’

‘Everyone’s so friendly,’ he said, moving back to walk beside her after scooting in to let some others pass.

‘You’ve lived in a city for too long,’ said Ida.

‘Maybe so. How often did you come here when you were young?’

‘It felt like we were here all the time. It’s so easy to get to on the train. After the first snow, we used to come most weekends. We knew all the kids from the cabins around ours, and we could ski right from the door. It was so much fun.’

‘And you didn’t come in the summer? It seems pretty great right now.’

‘Bergen’s pretty great in the summer. We used to spend the holidays at the beach. Like the one we went to the other night, but on a bigger scale. The water’s shallow enough to swim without freezing to death. And my brothers liked to be out on the water in the boat. We really only came here to ski.’

‘Yeah, my place in Banff is only a great place to live in the winter. In the summer I’d rather be in Toronto to camp and kayak and stuff.’

‘Is it still going to be a great place in the winter?’

‘Yeah, I don’t know. Probably not. I know I’m not going to snowboard again but selling my place feels like admitting defeat. That sounds so stupid when I say it out loud.’

‘It’s not stupid. It’s drawing a conclusion to that part of your life. That’s hard.’

‘That’s why you guys haven’t sold your parents’ house yet.’

‘Yes. Because deciding to sell it means I have to have a plan and I don’t have one.’

‘Seems to me you’re confusing having a plan with having somewhere to live. Your plan is working at the hotel, helping Mats to grow the business as he expands?’

‘But is that me planning my life, or me taking the easy option of working for my brother?’

‘Does that matter if you’re enjoying it? That’s the important part, right?’

He could see Ida’s mind whirring away as they walked.

‘I do need somewhere to live. I love working at the hotel, but it feels like I’m avoiding the rest of my life.’

‘I’m the one doing that, Ida.’ He took her hand and kissed it. ‘You’re way too hard on yourself. Let yourself be happy.’

‘I am happy.’ The way she smiled at him made his heart lurch. He felt the same way and he hadn’t let himself think too hard about anything else these past few days. This place had him in its grip and he so badly wanted to stay, but it was a reaction to being out of Canada. Being away from the place that made him feel like he’d failed. It felt like all the possibilities lay here now, and that was frightening.

‘I’m so happy, Ida.’ He tugged her hand, and they stopped walking. She leant her back against his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her as they looked out at the view. He dropped a kiss onto her head, and she kissed the hand that was resting on her shoulder and hooked her hands over his forearm.

‘Du kommer til å knuse hjertet mitt,’ she whispered. Then she turned to him and said, ‘We’re going to break each other, Erik.’

He wasn’t sure she’d said in English what she’d whispered in Norwegian, but there was nothing he could say to that. He couldn’t disagree; he felt like he’d fallen too far to leave without a backward glance, like he might have done if it had been a holiday romance. And he had no business offering her anything either. He didn’t know what life looked like for him beyond this vacation. How could he bring Ida on that journey with him?

She turned in his arms and nestled her head in his shoulder. ‘I’d rather have this and be heartbroken than never have met you.’

‘Me too, Ida, me too.’ He held her so tight. Admitting that to each other was huge but he knew neither of them could envisage what a happy-ever-after looked like. And that was the problem. Had they met too soon? Too late? Whatever, it was bad timing.

They found a good spot to sit overlooking the river where people were rafting. There were pools of deep blue water linked by stretches of rapids.