Chapter 54
Urs Does It His Way


“Mmm this is good, Annie Joy,” Urs said as he speared more of the cucumber salad onto his fork.

Annie Joy looked up from cutting a chunk of noodle from the Medusa looking congealed mass on her plate and commented dryly, “Right, I’m a regular Julia Child. It’s pretty hard to mess up thin sliced cucumbers in vinegar, Urs. Here I finally shoo Angie and Gabi out for the evening so I can fix dinner for us and look what happens. At least I know you love me for myself and not my cooking,” she added a bit more cheerfully.

“The meatballs were wery good,” he pointed out logically since his were all gone. “And the noodles have a good flavor.” As if to prove his point he used his knife and fork to cut a piece and popped it into his mouth, chewing with a relish rarely seen outside of acting school.

“Sure they do, except they need to come with a warning, ‘May require surgery to separate’. You do realize it’s partly your fault they turned into Siamese Noodles instead of Swedish ones?”

“Mine? But you were the one cooking.”

“And you were the one distracting the cook.”

“I did do a pretty good job didn’t I?” Urs smirked.

“Smugness does not become you Mr. Looli. Now shut up and eat your noodles or no dessert for you,” Annie Joy scolded holding in a laugh as best she could.

“Cheesecake med chocklad och apelsin,” Annie Joy announced with a flourish as she set it on the table. “I do know my culinary limitations so I twisted Gabi’s arm. Well actually she volunteered since it was for a Divo,” she admitted and cut Urs a generous slice.

**********

With Urs’ help they’d made short work of the cleaning up and settled on the sofa with their coffee. Annie Joy sat with her legs tucked under, holding her cup, occasionally sipping, lost in thought. She sighed, put her cup down and mentally moved over to make a place for the elephant in the room. “I can hardly believe this was my last Monday. Time went so fast,” she said as she looked up at Urs.

“So they haven’t told you which store yet?” Urs asked, silently congratulating himself on his self-control for not asking during dinner. Now that it was nearing the end of Annie Joy’s training he’d asked the same question daily and gotten the same answer. Annie Joy shook her head. “Are you sure they won’t tell you till Friday?”

“I’m sure, Urs. When I go in Friday morning to finish my paperwork they’ll tell me. It won’t do any good to keep asking. That’s how they do it. We’ll just have to wait and see. I’m sorry, I know it’s frustrating.”

Urs shifted to the side and Annie Joy stretched her legs out on the sofa and leaned back into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and leaned down and kissed her hair. “We’ll make it work wherever they send you. We’re not going to lose each other again,” he promised.

Annie Joy turned her head and looked up as him. “How could we? We’re both creative geniuses, right?” she teased. “We’ll just have to find opportunities to be together, that’s all,” she declared positively.

“You don’t suppose they have stores in Timbuktu do you?”

“Ha ha, very funny. Wouldn’t matter if they did. It would have to be an English speaking country. The logical place would be back in the States, but I put Europe first on my wish list. Don’t tell Rafe; he’d kill me. Of course it all depends on where they have an opening. Canada wouldn’t be too bad. Now Australia would be tricky, definitely a challenge but between the both of us we’d do it somehow.”

Urs could almost feel his butt tingling as he remembered those flights to Australia. Even in business class it seemed interminable. Please Gott no, that was so far away.

“Enough worrying and wondering for one night,” Annie Joy sighed as she swung her legs to the floor, sat up and handed Urs a packet of papers from the table. “Here, tell me again about the wonderful weekend you planned for us.”

Urs silently congratulated himself, not for the first time, on his plan to spend their last weekend together aboard a ship viewing the Northern Lights. Not only would it afford them private time to say their temporary goodbyes but also be a special reminder of how they met.

Annie Joy was like a child requesting a favorite bedtime story over and over again. Every time they talked about it her eyes sparkled with excitement and so he began yet again.

“Friday afternoon we fly to Oslo and then on to Tromsø where we board the MS Kong Harald. Remember there aren’t any balconies but it says here we have a large picture window,” Urs pointed to the picture in the brochure. “It will take us past the North Cape and on to Kirkenes and head up the coast to Havoysund and Honningsvag and then turn around and come back.” He put his hand over hers and traced the route as she pointed.

“And when we see the Northern Lights do you think they’ll look like that?” she asked pointing to the picture near the top of the page.







“We’ll just have to wait and see, liebe, but I’m sure it will be a once in a lifetime experience,” he promised. In more ways than one. I don’t plan on doing this again. These butterflies feel like flying monkeys.

“Won’t it be fun being together for the lifeboat drill this time?”

“Oh yes, I can hardly wait,” Urs teased, “but I’m keeping an eye on you this time so you don’t bump into me and knock me overboard.”

“That was just a tiny nudge. Stop being such a wimp. I do have a teensy confession to make though, HL. You sure looked sexy in that life vest. The view from the back was magnificent. The way your orange marshmallow ended right at your waist and then came those perfect, tight little buns and those thighs…” Annie Joy used her hands to demonstrate much to Urs’ embarrassment.

“Annie Joy will you quit? Next thing you’ll want to…” Urs saw the mischievous gleam in her eyes and gulped, “Oh no, you have got to be kidding, no, hell n…” and was attacked by a frenzy of puppy kisses from Annie Joy as she climbed on his lap.

“You’re absolutely right, HL, that would never work,” she said as the puppies began nibbling on Urs’ ear. “But we don’t have life vests on now and Angie and Gabi won’t be back for,” she reached down and grabbed Urs’ wrist and checked the time, “another hour.”

Annie Joy was quick on her feet, literally, as Urs’ lap disappeared. “We’re wasting time, woman,” he muffled from underneath his shirt as he pulled it off, grabbed her hand and headed down the hall.



Urs had his phone on vibrate and gave a quick apology to Per and Carlos as he saw Annie Joy’s name and hurried out of the room.

“Let’s hope it is the good news,” commented Carlos looking a bit worried.

Annie Joy took a deep breath, “Edmondton.”

“Edmondton?” Canada…so far. Why couldn’t it at least have been near the east coast, Montreal or Toronto? Stop being selfish. You can make this work. It won’t be forever. Anything is worth it, just so you don’t lose each other. Say something positive.

“Don’t be upset. It could have been really far away like Perth or Adelaide,” he rationalized.

“But Urs…” Annie Joy tried to explain but Urs was on a roll.

“It’s not that far, my Petit Papillion,” he said trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice. “I remember when we did a concert there. We’ll talk about it later all right? I need to get back now. I’ll be there at 1:00. I love you,” and he hung up.

Annie Joy pictured the slide show of emotions that had crossed his face in the last minute--surprise, disappointment, and finally determination. She imagined him squaring his shoulders and returning to finish whatever rehearsal or discussion he’d left. By now his highly ordered brain was probably hard at work devising plans and schedules. She smiled and shook her head. Sometimes that man was just too Swiss for his own good.

If this don’t cure him of jumping to conclusions I sure don’t know what will.

You got that right Great Minnie.

**********

Annie Joy had said her goodbyes to the girls at lunch and now waited in the empty apartment for Urs.
The minute she opened the door he folded her into his arms and hugged her tightly. “We’ll work it out, Annie Joy, you’ll see. I know it’s not as close as we hoped but we love each other. We can get thro…” Annie Joy put her fingers over his mouth.

“Urs, just get in here and hush for a second,” she said pulling him inside the apartment and shutting the door. “You know I love you but sometimes you go barreling off in the wrong direction and just go on and on. Like today on the phone. I wasn’t finished telling you.”

Annie Joy looked at him and smiled, “You see there’s another Edmondton. I’m not going to the one you thought, the one in Canada. I’m going to the Edmondton in North London.”

Urs grabbed her arms. “North London? For real?” She nodded. “For sure? That’s perfect! Now you can…” It seems Urs wasn’t the only one with a plan as Annie Joy’s mouth silenced him. He smiled into her kiss as he realized he had never been happier to be wrong.

**********

Annie Joy held her arms straight out to the side, ”Robot Woman lives,” she giggled as Urs gave the strap on her vest a final tug.
“There you’re all ready,” he said shrugging his arms into his vest and reaching around for the strap.

“My turn,” said Annie Joy as she grabbed the strap and threaded it through the buckle, tucked in the end of the strap and gave his buns a squeeze.

Urs backed away protecting his backside with his hands. “Annie Joy, I’m warning you, keep your hands to yourself when we’re up on deck.”

“Or what?” she taunted with a grin and made grabbing motions with her hands.

“Or I’ll be forced to topple you onto the bed where you will lay helpless like a turtle on its back, unable to get up. You will miss the drill and be made to walk the plank.”

“Promises, promises,” she taunted.

Shaking his head and laughing, he turned her toward the door and with his hands on her shoulders he firmly marched her out in front of him.

Up on deck they checked in with the officer in charge and stood in the back row as close as possible to the wall to keep out of the wind as they waited for the last few passengers.

Annie Joy looked over at wind-blown Urs. “You look just like you did in the picture,” she said.

“That good eh?” Urs deadpanned. “So do you,” he whispered out of the side of his mouth. “That will always be my favorite picture of you,” he smiled.

He reached out to hug her. Ooof! That won’t work. Maybe if I lean like this. No, my arms aren’t long enough. How about that? All they succeeded in doing was bouncing off each other so they settled for a rather distant kiss and an even more distant arms length hug.

After several toe tapping, totally frustrating minutes they were dismissed to their cabins, unbuckling as they went. The cabin door closed heavily; they dropped their vests to the floor and … stopped. Then as if the fast forward button had been pushed to play they slowly walked into each other’s arms. No need to rush. They had time enough. They would be together in London.

Not like turtles but passionate lovers they toppled onto the bed in a tangle of limbs, moving closer, hands joined in gentle caresses, explorations shared and renewed.

Their lips met slowly, softly, delicately, building quickly to demand. His breathing was shallow and fast. They shared the same air. His lips parted and then touched hers again as she sighed and closed her eyes. How many times had they kissed? And yet, for all the times his lips had caressed and coaxed hers, never had she felt this sense of coming home.

From her mouth to her toes, every part of her touched some part of him, every part of her buzzing from their contact —two bodies occupying the same space. The world dissolved and reformed again and again, just the two of them here in this moment.

**********

They stood wrapped together in the duvet and each other’s arms watching the kaleidoscope of shifting colors in the dark clear sky. Their breath made little fog clouds on the cold window.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said. The tenderness of his kiss brought tears to her eyes. He smiled as if she were the most special person in the whole world. “Remember that night when we stood out on deck and talked about hand fasting? Let’s make it official. Cross your hands. Good. Now your right hand in my right and your left in my left.”

“Annie Joy Lindstrom, I love you more than I ever thought a man could love a woman. I’m….I’m just overboard in love with you. My life would be empty without you.”

She followed his eyes down to look at the infinity symbol formed by their hands and swallowed hard. Her eyes grew wide. What was he trying to say? He voice was a mere whisper, husky with emotion. “We both know what this means.”

“A year and a day?” she half asked.

He pulled her toward him, toward his waiting kiss.
“A year and a lifetime, Annie Joy. That’s what I want with you.”

Her heart pounded in her chest.

He scooped her into his arms and kissed her. His adoring gaze and the gentleness of his touch as he stroked her cheek sent quivers through her. He kissed her tender and sweet.

“Is that how the Swiss do it?” she asked as she opened her eyes. Was that her voice speaking? It seemed so far away.

“It’s the way this Swiss does it,” he said as he continued to hold her gaze.

Her eyes became serious as they traveled over his face, memorizing this moment in her heart. Then as if from behind a cloud her smile broke out shining and glorious to behold. “I’ll love you Urs for a year and all the years to come, I promise.”

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her with such passion she knew she belonged to him and no other. Forever.

*********

So Annie Joy and Urs have come full circle from ship to ship, from pretend newlyweds to soon to be real newlyweds. We leave them basking in the glow of their love. Who knows perhaps one day they’ll be ready to tell you the rest of their story.

There will be a rather unique epilogue on Thursday.