Helsinki airport, David thought, was much more pleasant than Heathrow. It was never as busy, and somehow the staff never seemed to be so harassed, or so distanced from the customer. For that matter, almost anywhere was much more pleasant than Heathrow. It was with a feeling of downright pleasure that he took his place in yet another queue at the immigration desk, passing through without any comment being offered. He had been unable to get a place on the connecting flight to the north this time, so had opted to take the train instead. The thought pleased him, thinking that he might see something of the Finnish landscape as he travelled. A short bus ride took him to the railway station, where he bought a ticket with only the minimum of linguistic difficulty, and boarded the train.
The landscape, he found, was something of a disappointment. No doubt it was as attractive as anywhere in the world, if only it could be seen through the thick screen of trees. Birches, pines, firs, or whatever they were. He made a mental note to ask Laura. A thought occurred to him. Perhaps these trees were the scenery. Certainly there were few open areas of fields and even fewer of water. He shook his head in puzzlement. It didn’t look quite like the pictures in the books introducing the country. Still, picture books of that type rarely gave an accurate view of what they represented, he thought, reflecting on those he had seen about Britain.
Only a few hours later he alighted on to a small, countryside looking station platform, and made his way to the taxi rank. He grinned, as he realised that taxi was one of the few Finnish words he could recognise with certainty, even if it was spelt in an unusual way. It took only a moment to discover the driver either knew no English, or more likely, didn’t understand David’s attempts at the address he wanted. Still, that was no problem. David produced a slip of paper with the address written on and displayed it to the driver. A nod of understanding and the taxi moved forward into the stream of light traffic, turning right on to a main road which was very little busier. On reaching his destination, David handed over a large denomination banknote, waiting until he received change, then made his way inside the flat, still unlocked, putting his bag on the floor, and leaving again immediately.
Moments later, he knocked on the door leading to Laura’s house. To his relief, it was Laura herself who opened the door. She wore a familiar brooch on an equally familiar sweater.
’Hello,’ he said. ’I’m back again.’
’David. This is a surprise. Do come in.’
’Thank you, but are you sure it’s convenient? I mean, I should have given you some warning, but I only decided to come last night.’
’One day, you’ll be travelling so fast you’ll meet yourself in an airport somewhere, although you’ll have someone to talk to, at least,’ Laura scolded him gently. ’Of course it’s convenient. Have you eaten? Properly, I mean.’
’I had something on the flight.’
’So, no proper food then. I know what flight meals are like. Well sit there and keep Musti company until I make something for you.’ She sighed. ’I would ask you just to sit, but I know you feel you have to be doing something all the time, so now you have a dog to control. And good luck to you with it. Nobody else seems able to control her.’
David did as he was told, fondling the dog’s ears and murmuring a greeting to Laura’s parents, who seemed to accept his presence as a matter of course.
’Well, David?’ Laura said, as she cleared the table after he had finished his meal. ’Henrik wasn’t expecting you for some time. What brings you here now?’
’I’d like to talk to you Laura. This time I really have come to see you, and it’s nothing to do with business.’
’I like it,’ she said, her smile robbing her words of any offence. ’It sounds as though it may be an improvement.’
’I hope you’ll think so when you’ve heard what I want to tell you,’ said David. ’This may not be the most tactful way to start a conversation, but I want to tell you something about another woman. About Stella, in fact.’
’Mrs. Marshall?’ Laura kept her expression too neutral to be totally meaningless.
’That’s right. Can we go somewhere private? I know your parents won’t understand, but I feel in the need of privacy.’
’Of course. Where could we go? There’s really nowhere here, and it’s too cold and windy today for the boat. What about your flat?’
’All right. If you are prepared to risk your reputation.’
Laura smiled at him. ’I think I may be safe enough. Come on Musti. You see? I have a fierce guard dog to protect my interests.’
She spoke briefly to her parents, then led the way out, dog bounding happily ahead and covering at least double the distance in its frantic efforts to keep a check on everything. In David’s flat, they sat at the table, facing each other. Musti lay under David’s chair, gently gnawing his shoe and growling with pleasure.
’Forgive me if I make a mess of this,’ said David. ’I’m not quite sure where to start. You see, Stella paid me a visit last night, quite late on, early hours of this morning, in fact. She explained that she and Rupert are separated, and intend to divorce. She offered herself to me.’
Laura looked sharply at her companion. Clearly there had to be more. Equally clearly, he was waiting for her initial reaction.
’In marriage, or...’ Her voice tailed off.
David took a deep breath. ’Or. Very definitely or. She made that crystal clear. It could have been as immediate as I liked. That very minute, if I had wanted. She made that crystal clear as well. Mind you, she has nothing against marriage either, for practical reasons, naturally. In fact, marriage would regularise her position, make it easier for her to inherit in due course. Just the same, it doesn’t mean so much to her as long as she has a greater income available than Rupert can manage. He’s going bankrupt, you see. Soon he’ll have nothing left. Well, he won’t have to go from door to door begging for food, but he’ll not have enough to satisfy Stella. Her demands always were rather higher than any reasonable man could manage.’
’And she’s leaving him, just when he needs support?’ There was a slight note of distress in Laura’s speech.
’Stella knows what she wants. But I thought you didn’t like him.’
’I don’t,’ said Laura, with a touch of vehemence. ’He’s like something you find underneath stones but even slugs deserve help when they need it. She married him, after all. She has a duty to stand by him when the bad times come. ’
’Somehow,’ said David. ’Somehow I rather thought you might look at it in that way. You’re a thoroughly nice person, Laura, did anyone ever tell you that?’
’I think you did, just now,’ she smiled, calming down. ’Anyway, it’s true, about Mrs. Marshall, I mean. It’s not just a question of duty, either. It should be a pleasure.’
’Stella takes her pleasures very seriously,’ David assured her. ’Unfortunately, she believes that someone else should pay for them. In this case, myself, since she obviously can’t find anyone with greater wealth.’
’Are you going back to her?’ she asked with only a suspicion of a break in her voice.
’I was never really with her in the first place, so there’s no question of going back. Sorry, I know what you mean. I haven’t really answered your question, have I? If I had intended to take up her offer, I would be with her now. As it is, I invited her to leave. No I didn’t. It only sounded that way. I threw her out, after telling her just what I thought of her, and came here on the first available flight this morning.’
’You can’t have slept very much, then,’ Laura said pragmatically.
’I haven’t, apart from a nap on the train, but since I seem to live on coffee and adrenaline, that doesn’t matter. What does matter is this. I’ve made a fool of myself over Stella, but I stopped being a fool last night. I told her something about you, of our friendship, and she twisted that into something cheap and objectionable. I could take a lot, but that I found unforgiveable. You see, I love you Laura. I love you very much indeed, and I won’t accept any insult offered to you.’
’Why are you telling me all this, David?’
’Because I want you to understand the sort of foolish man you are going to marry. If you’ll have me, that is.’
Laura looked at him steadily, shaking her head gently from side to side. ’If I’ll have you? Oh David. I was beginning to think I would have to ask you myself. Or keep you trapped on our island until you made an honest woman of me.’
David stood up and went to her. Laura moved to meet him. They gazed into each other’s eyes.
’You mean...?’ said David.
’Of course. I love you too, and I’ll marry you just as soon as you want. We had better do it quickly, as well. I know what a hurry you are always in, and if it’s all the same to you, I’d rather get married in a church than in an airport.’
They moved together. Arms entwined and lips met for the first time but only fleetingly.
’Get down, Musti,’ scolded Laura, laughing as she attempted, in vain, to pull her skirt down to a more respectable level. David noticed that the bruise on her thigh had long since disappeared. She blushed as she noticed the direction of his eyes, then thought, it doesn’t matter. Not now. Not ever again. If it ever did matter.
’Oh David, I’m sorry. She’s not jealous, she just thinks it’s a game, and wants to join in. I should have left her at home, after all.’
’It’s no game, Laura. I’m deadly serious. I’m only sorry it’s not a very romantic proposal. I’ll try to do better in the future. And I don’t mind Musti, not in the slightest. I’ve noticed there are a lot of dogs like her. Presumably that’s another reason why the Finnish population is so small. The only thing is, she’s not coming on honeymoon.’
’She won’t David. I promise there will be just the two of us. I’m not sharing you with anyone, especially with another female. Come on, let’s take her home, and then we’ll go for a walk by the lake. It’s a bit chilly, but maybe we won’t notice.’
’Just as well,’ smiled David. ’Having you here in my flat late at night puts ideas into my head, ideas I’m not sure should be there at all. It may be a good thing that Musti was here to protect you.’
’Nonsense David. Those ideas have been there for a long time, I’m very glad to say. You just didn’t stop long enough to recognise them. And I’m not at all sure I want to be protected, either.’
The moon cast a reflection across the still, deep water, looking for all the world like a bridge, a connecting factor between two people of two cultures. Close by, a red haired dog whined briefly before settling down to sleep, lost in dreams of its own.