The Indian Bride by Karin Fossum Read Free Book Online

to himself. Come and meet my wife. Her name is Poona. Then he set eagerly about his work.
    New linen for the double bed. With lace trimmings on the pillowcases. New tablecloth for the dining room. Four new towels for the bathroom. Took down the curtains—they needed washing and ironing. Marie helped him. The silver needed polishing—their mother had left him a great deal of silverware. The windows needed cleaning; they had to sparkle so brightly that Poona could look out into the pretty garden with its roses and peonies. The water in the birdbath needed replacing. There was no drain, so he emptied it using a bucket. Then he washed it with soapy water and refilled it. He tidied all the rubbish, pulled up weeds, and raked the gravel drive. All the time he could hear Poona's voice in his head and catch her scent in the air. He saw her face when he lay down at night. Remembered the gentle touch of her finger on his nose.
    At work everyone was very curious to hear about his trip. He was tanned and jolly and told them what they wanted to hear, but he did not mention Poona. He wanted to keep her to himself a little while longer. They would soon enough hear, soon enough to begin their whispering.
    "You've been a lot in the sun," Bjørnsson said, and nodded approvingly.
    Gunder's balding head glowed like a red bulb.
    "Not for a moment," Gunder said. "Can't sit in the sun there. I've only been in the shade."
    "Good God," Bjørnsson said.
    Nevertheless his colleagues secretly suspected that something was going on. He made more calls than usual. Kept going into the empty office and motioned away anyone who appeared in the doorway. He often went shopping on his lunch break. They noticed shopping bags from the china shop and from the home furnishings place that sold textiles and bed linen.
    Poona called collect. Her brother was not happy about the marriage, but she was not much concerned about that. "He's just jealous," she said. "He is very, very poor, you see."
    "We'll invite him to Norway, when everything is sorted out. He should see how nicely you'll be living. I'll pay for his flight."
    "There's no need for you to do that," Poona said. "He doesn't deserve it seeing how grumpy he's being."
    "He'll calm down eventually. We'll take photographs and send them to him. Photographs of you in front of the house. And in the kitchen. Then he can see that you're not lacking for anything."
    August 20 was approaching. Marie called to let him know that Karsten was going on a business trip to Hamburg and would not be back on the day Poona arrived. The two of them probably wanted to be alone on the first day, she said. "And I won't come rushing over at once. Why don't you come to dinner on the 21st. I'll do venison. And it's Karsten's birthday on the 24th. That way she'll meet him, too. He'll just have to make an effort and be sociable for once."
    "He's not sociable?" Gunder said, taken aback.
    "You know what he's like," she said.
    "We'll take the time we need together," said Gunder. "Poona will need it more. She's the one leaving behind everything and everyone for something completely new."
    "I'll go out and get some flowers for tomorrow. I've still got your key," Marie said happily. "I'll put them in the living room with a card for her from Karsten and me. Then she'll feel welcome. When are you leaving?"
    "In plenty of time," Gunder said. "The plane lands at 6 P.M. She changed flights in Frankfurt yesterday and spent the night there. She wanted to do some shopping there first. I mean to be there an hour early, to find a parking space and all that."
    "You'll call when you get back, won't you? Just so that I know you found each other."
    "Found each other? Why wouldn't we?"
    "Well, she's coming ever such a long way. Sometimes there are delays and things like that."
    "Of course we'll find each other," Gunder said. And it struck his sister that it had never occurred to him that she would not arrive as anticipated. That she might have cried off at the