Clueless Camping - 19. Family loyalty is everything

The S-train brought us back to the central part of Copenhagen, and we made our way towards Tor’s apartment. Jacob had gotten a text message asking us to meet Tor and Kristin there. I wondered why she hadn’t stayed with Mom, but I was looking forward to hearing their version of the events and Kristin’s opinion about the situation. We bought sandwiches on the way; I wasn’t hungry but maybe I would be later.

When we entered the apartment, Kristin was there to greet us. I could see she had changed her clothes from yesterday, so she hadn’t left immediately after the confrontation. Evan, who was in front, got a quick hug and then she turned to embrace me.

“Where have you been? I’ve tried to get hold of you two hours ago.”

“Sorry, I didn’t have my phone on. We went to see Moffa and Mommar.”

“You did what?” She looked between Evan and me. “Whose idea was that?”

I gestured to my twin and Kristin muttered, “I should have guessed.”

“It was actually a good idea, Sis,” I told her. “They didn’t bring up anything about their discussion with Mom, and they were too much in awe of Chris to mention us being gay.”

Evan gave me a grateful grin. “Yeah, I think our handsome fiancés impressed the grandfolks with their serious devotion to us. And now they can’t pester Mom about wanting to see us.”

We had moved into the kitchen where Tor was waiting. Evan grabbed my hand, and we went straight up to the blond hunk and twin-hugged him. The look on his face was priceless, but he didn’t hesitate to put his arms around our shoulders.

“Thank you for defending Kristin, and good luck with winning her heart.” The last part of Evan’s greeting was whispered in Tor’s ear, after a kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you for being a loyal friend, and welcome to the family.” I emulated my twin in keeping the second half of my message private and also added a quick peck on the now blushing face.

“You will be the envy of several guys we know,” Chris told Tor. When we looked around we could see Chris and Kristin taking pictures of the three of us with their cell phones.

“What do you mean?” Tor let go of our shoulders with a final pat, and I immediately dragged Evan over to Jacob, so we could have our picture taken with him too.

Chris chuckled and obliged while he explained. “One of my good friends is a photographer specializing in erotic images. He would give his left arm to get good-looking gay twins posing for him. I’m sure he’d love to have a strong blond Viking featuring in the same shot.” He paused and winked at Tor.

Chris had handed his phone to Jacob when we moved on to mob him, and he even let us kiss his cheeks at the same time. Kristin was giggling and telling us we were ‘crazy cute.’ We immediately attacked her with tickles, growling about the annoying word. Tor came to her defense, of course, and dragged us away. We squirmed, but he had us safely pinned against his sides, one under each arm. Fuck, that guy was strong.

“Hmm, Greg would love a shot like that, preferably nude, of course. And hugging sexy twins would come high on the wish list of many guys.”

Tor quickly let go of us, and Chris patted his shoulder with a grin. Jacob didn’t seem to mind his friend manhandling us either. But I guess he knew Tor’s only interest was Kristin.

“Well, it will have to stay a wish,” I told them. “I’m not hugging people I don’t know, or posing for any nude photos.”

“Unless Jacob is the photographer,” Evan added.

“What?” I frowned at him.

“I saw the photos on his Facebook page.”

“You what? I’m not naked on those!” I turned to Jacob who quickly shook his head to support my claim and to indicate he hadn’t uploaded anything else. Not that he had actually taken any pictures of me naked, as far as I knew.

“As good as, and I’m sure he took more than the ones he displayed. And don’t scowl at me, Russ. You look fantastic in those shots.”

“Well, you’re wrong. Just because you might like to pose in front of Chris, doesn’t mean I’ll do the same.”

Evan smirked at me, and I punched his arm. “I meant pose in front of Jacob, you pervert. Jeez!”

A small coughing fit made us all look at Jacob. I’m sure my face went bright red as I suddenly recalled posing in nothing but a jockstrap the night before. Somehow I knew my fiancé would love to take pictures of me doing that.

“Maybe we should get back to the important stuff. Kristin, I’m sure your brothers would like an update on the situation.” Tor’s calm voice was like a bucket of cold water, but I was profoundly grateful. We’d gotten sidetracked, and I wasn’t quite sure how it happened. Evan had come up with the idea of a special greeting for Tor and shared it with me on the train, whispering excitedly while our men were engrossed in texting. But it had escalated out of hand, and I didn’t think it was fair to blame Chris either.

A short while later we were sitting around the kitchen table. I noticed how Kristin chose to sit much closer to Tor than last night. They seemed well on their way to becoming a couple, which made me both happy and sad. How would they make it work?

Kristin cleared her throat, and we stared at her expectantly. “OK, I think I’ll have to go back to what happened after Evan came out. I know you’re upset about the way Mom sent Russ off to Denmark alone and didn’t get in touch with Evan, but you need to cut her some slack.”

Evan and I exchanged glances; we had both accepted the need to send me away, but we wanted to know why she had been out of touch for months. I knew Evan thought she should have contacted him within a week and offered to take him to Denmark to spend time with us and explain everything.

“I hope you think she’s doing well on handling the whole situation of meeting your boyfriends,” Kristin said, and we all nodded. “But she had a hard time getting her head on right after the confrontation between Evan and Henry.” Hmm, Kristin had apparently come to the same conclusion about what to call Father.

“She was clever enough to realize she had to work through her issues away from the two of you, so she wouldn’t hurt you from ignorance. You may think she was being selfish, but she had a lot of soul-searching to do. She went to several therapy sessions, and we also talked for hours. Mom wanted to be sure she wouldn't blame anyone but her husband for the break-up of the family, and that she accepted her sons being gay – not just on the surface, but deep down.”

“You’re saying she wasn’t OK with us being gay,” Evan said through clenched teeth.

“No,” Kristin shot back. “I’m saying she loves you enough to make sure she dealt with all the crap from her upbringing, marriage, church, and whoever else tried to tell her it wasn’t OK.”

“It took her three months to do that?” I asked. “Did your parents have similar problems?” I looked at Chris first, thinking of his little Dom-bomb earlier, and then turned my gaze to Jacob.

“All parents have to go through a period of adjustment when their kids do something unexpected. It’s not just coming out, Russ; a few of my friends have chosen jobs which didn’t suit their parents’ ideas of a good career. I know one girl who insisted on becoming a firefighter, and her mother still nags her about it after five years, silly woman.” Chris shook his head over the folly of some parents, and I could see his point.

“What was there for her to get over?” Evan asked. I wasn’t surprised he had a harder time forgiving Mom. Chris had hinted more than once how Evan fell apart when he couldn’t get in touch with me.

“It’s probably difficult to shed the inhibitions of your upbringing, and I think my mum had to make some adjustments too. Like Isa she did it in private, but she had the support of my dad, who took my coming out very casually.” Jacob added his support to Chris and Kristin’s view of things, and I could see it influenced Evan too. He waved for Kristin to go on.

“Mom spent time in New York talking to people with LGBT experiences or knowledge. She went to PFLAG meetings and visited a shelter for homeless gay kids. She cried after she came home that day, and I think they’ll receive a huge donation when she gets her finances in order. She’s read stories on the Internet, real and fiction, and she’s been to a couple of gay-friendly churches. At one point she was rather depressed, because she knew she might have to choose between her sons and her marriage, but I never doubted her love for you, for us, was stronger than anything else.”

Kristin had tears in her eyes as she finished, and when Tor put his arm around her shoulder, she leaned into him and took hold of his other hand. It dawned on me my sister had probably witnessed Mom struggling with her emotions and decisions. She’d had to be strong and supportive; she was most likely our advocate, and she was working full time as well and sharing her small apartment. But she might not have had anyone to lean on during those months.

“Thank you, Kristin.” Evan and I spoke almost at the same time, and I gestured for him to go on.

“Thank you for taking care of Mom and for helping her deal with her stuff. Thank you for explaining so we don’t hurt her by asking stupid questions or accusing her of abandoning us. We’re grateful she’s here for us now.”

“But what does it mean for the current situation? Should we go and see her, or wait till she asks?” I was grateful Mom had weathered her crisis, but I didn’t want to dwell on it. Instead, I wanted to show my appreciation by supporting her from now on.

“OK, so at the moment Mom has to deal with her parents not being very understanding, and she has to face her marriage being over. On the other hand she was prepared for both to happen. Her main topic of talk on our flight over was you being protected and cared for. After she met Chris and became reacquainted with Jacob, she told me her worries had almost disappeared.”

“Almost?” Evan asked with raised eyebrows, but Chris gave him a gentle poke.

“All moms worry, love. It’s built in, no matter how old their kids get. My mom still has these bouts of protectiveness for me, as well as for my sisters.”

“And you have to admit it’s unusual to be engaged before you’re twenty, not to mention married. She would worry about your relationships lasting whether it was with a man or a woman,” Kristin added.

There was nothing we could say to that, because no matter how firmly I believed Jacob was my forever man, no one knew the future. I would simply treasure every day we had together and not speculate uselessly about thing which might never happen. I’d done enough of that in my life.

“I don’t blame Isa for worrying but I hope she knows we’ll do our best to make you happy for the rest of our lives.” Chris spoke for himself and Jacob, who simply raised his glass to salute his future brother-in-law in agreement.

“Mom doesn’t like to display any weakness, but she’s always been close to Benedicte. Let them work out matters, and let Mom regain her calm. Show her you’re happy and pretend she has everything under control.”

“In other words, don’t rush out there and ask if she’s OK, and what we can do to help,” I paraphrased her suggestion.

“Not for her sake, no.” Kristin sounded certain, and I was convinced she was right. Mom had always shown a strong front no matter what. She might be OK with letting Benedicte see her being upset, but she wanted us to believe she could deal with anything. From the way Evan changed the topic, I knew he agreed.

“OK, we’ll leave the Mama Bears alone. Now, why don’t you tell us what happened when you and Tor arrived. We hear it was quite a spectacle.”

“I didn’t intend it to be,” Kristin objected, but her smile told us she hadn’t minded either. Suddenly there was a noise from her cell phone on the table in front of her, and her lips became a tight line.

“Aren’t you going to check it out?” I asked her.

She shook her head. “I know who it’s from and those texts will be ignored until he’s apologized to both of you.”

“It’s been going off every half-hour, all morning,” Tor informed us. “She set it to give a separate ding for texts from his phone.” All of us knew who they were talking about.

Kristin took a deep breath. “Anyway, Tor was supposed to drop me off, but Mom and her parents walked out of the front door as we arrived. We had only just taken our helmets off and started walking towards them, when Henry popped out the same way he did the first time. We ignored him, but he walked after us, yelling insults.”

“Nobody gets to insult you when I’m around,” Tor rumbled, and his normally happy face looked like a thundercloud.

“I think he was trying to insult you, Tor. He said he didn’t want some stupid Danish biker to ruin his daughter’s reputation.”

“He more or less implied you were a slut. Biker’s bitch is not a compliment, even if you do look hot in leathers,” Tor growled.

Kristin gave a small breathless giggle, which was completely unlike our normally placid sister. Man, she must have fallen hard for the blond Viking. Not that I blame her, he was a hunk and probably still besotted by her. Only today Tor was a confident man rather than the immature guy she had ignored last time, according to Evan.

“Tor made me wear a set of motorbike leathers as well as the helmet. Apparently his sister sometimes goes with him, so he has an extra set of a suitable size. I was sweltering, but he insisted it wouldn’t be safe without the full gear. I took a quick shower and changed after we got back here.”

I tried to imagine my sister and Tor in full leather getup; it was an almost scary idea. But I liked the thought of Tor being concerned with my sister’s safety. Perhaps she liked it too? Evan was more interested in the confrontation and asked what happened next.

“I guess you could say Thor’s Hammer gave Henry what he deserved. The best part was the Mama Bears simply stood and watched while Tor grabbed hold of him and told him to get lost and stop pestering his ex-family. Moffar almost ran past me to get into the car, and I think he was quite surprised when Tor made Henry get into the back seat.”

Tor shrugged. “Your grandmother kept clucking about him not having arrived with them, and not needing a lift. I told her he was their responsibility, and they could take him directly to the airport and put him on a flight home, for all we cared.”

“He stood there and scowled at them until they drove off. I could hear Benedicte explain about this being Jacob’s best friend Christian, who would be his best man at the wedding. Mom was a bit confused when I introduced him as Tor.”

“Kristin left me to explain my nickname to the ladies. They had a lot of questions. I haven’t seen Benedicte since just after I came home from Helmand, and both of them seemed interested in my plans for the future.”

Evan and I did our best, but one look at my twin started me chuckling. When Evan said “Poor Tor, she threw him to the Mama Bears,” we both broke into uncontrollable laughter. Jacob soon followed suit, and even Chris couldn’t help grinning a bit.

Kristin cleared her throat and said in her frosty big-sister voice, “Will you cut it out, you two! I only left them alone for twenty minutes while I went upstairs to get a change of clothes and check my email.”

Evan held his hands up. “OK, OK, Sis, keep your hat on. What happened next?”

“Nothing much. Mom asked if we’d had a nice evening and what our plans were for today. She and Benedicte wanted to relax and prepare for the party on Saturday. I told her about you wanting to come to New York for Christmas and she loved the idea. Benedicte said she and Jens would plan to come over as well.”

“I said we had planned to meet up this afternoon and maybe go sightseeing. The weather is supposed to stay nice.”

“It was almost too hot when Mom and I arrived in Denmark,” Kristin said. “But after the thunderstorm Sunday night it’s been OK for being in town.”

“The last two weeks of July had a heat wave, so I’m glad we spent most of the time near the coast. You should go to Skagen, Sis, you’d love it there.”

“Maybe next time I come to Denmark,” she replied, and Tor’s smile got even wider. “Is that why you’re so tanned, Russell?”

“Yeah, although Jacob insisted I had to use lots of sun blocker, and we stayed in the shade during the warmest hours.”

“Why don’t we stroll up to Frederiksberg Have? It’s a nice park next to the Zoo,” Tor suggested. “We can take our sandwiches and some cold drinks and relax on blankets.”

“Is the Zoo worth a visit?” Evan asked. “We didn’t go there last time.”

Tor shrugged. “I think it’s mainly visited by families with children, but they do have some rare animals. Their giraffes are considered amongst the finest in the world, and it’s one of the few places outside Australia where you can see Tasmanian Devils.”

“Wasn’t there some controversy about them killing a healthy young giraffe and feeding pieces of it to lions in front of kids?” Evan and I looked at Chris with huge eyes, thinking he was joking.

“Yep, Marius,” Jacob said, as if this was nothing special. “Lots of people said he should have been transferred to another zoo, but it would have meant he took up space for another giraffe with more valuable genes. Or at least, that’s how the Zoo Director explained it.”

“A trip to the park sounds nice, but I’m not sure about the Zoo,” Kristin declared.

“Never mind, sis, we can always come back when we have kids,” Evan told her.

She raised her eyebrows at him. “When we have kids?”

“Russ and I have always wanted kids. Surrogate, adoption, whatever; it doesn’t matter. Eventually, you’ll be an auntie, just as I hope we’ll be uncles soon.” Evan sent her his best innocent smile, and I had to bite my hand in order not to collapse in a fit of laughter.

Kristin went bright red and Tor looked like someone just hit him with a hammer. Chris didn’t look the least bit surprised at Evan’s declaration, so my twin must have shared this dream with him. Oops, I suddenly remembered Jacob and I hadn’t talked about having kids. Turning to him I gave a sigh of relief. His expression was tender and loving, and I knew he was on board with the idea.

“I want to have children eventually, but I would like to wait a few years. You should get your diploma first, and we should both make a start on our careers,” my practical fiancé said.

“A bit more maturity would probably be a good idea, Evan,” Kristin said in her most big-sister voice.

He rolled his eyes, muttering “Yes, Mom,” but she shook her finger at him.

“One thing at a time and it’s not as if you have a biological clock ticking. Enjoy your freedom, now that you have it.”

At this reference to the oppressive parent we had escaped, the mood turned darker, but Tor quickly changed the topic.

“All right then, let’s go. Jacob, will you get the drinks and the sandwiches? Chris, there are blankets on the top shelf of the cupboard in the hall; just stick them in the bag on the bottom shelf.”

Everyone got up and I helped fill Jacob’s backpack with food and drinks. We took turns getting changed into shorts and T-shirts, before we left the apartment. Tor took us on a route which went along a wide boulevard with two double rows of weirdly-shaped trees along the sides. When Chris commented on them, Tor said the candelabrum shape was due to the trees being topped many years ago, and subsequently pruned to enhance their shape.

“The nickname of this road is the Nordic Champs-Élysées. Frederiksberg Allé used to be the King’s road leading to the small castle in the park, or in Danish Frederiksberg Slot in Frederiksberg Have. There are several theatres and restaurants in the area.” Tor told us random facts as we walked up the road, and pointed out the unusual eight-sided church built in 1734. He also explained Frederiksberg was a small, separate and wealthy municipality in the middle of the much larger municipality of Copenhagen. Of course, the name came from one of the many Danish Kings called Frederik, but I forget which one.

It was nice to be able to stroll along hand in hand with my fiancé in a casual way. Jacob smiled at me and squeezed my hand when I pointed it out. Evan and Chris also indulged in the chance to entwine their fingers and exchange an occasional kiss. At some point Tor managed to sneak an arm around Kristin’s shoulder and she didn’t object. Evan and I carefully hid our grins when we spoke to them.

At one point we’d stopped at a red traffic light. A blond woman in a blue dress stood next to the curb, talking on her cell phone while holding her bicycle with the other hand. She seemed vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t think why. And even if she spoke English, that was no reason to suspect her.

“Six o’clock at Frederiksberg Gardens. Yes, I think so. OK, see you there.” She put the phone away and took off up the road as the light turned green. She hadn’t even looked at us, and I decided I was being paranoid.

Arriving at the park Tor led us to the left until we came to the huge lawn below the small yellow castle. Plenty of other people were enjoying the sunshine, but we could easily find a space at a distance from them. It was relaxing to lie with my head in Jacob’s lap while he gently combed my hair with his fingers and chatted with Chris and Tor. Evan and Kristin had a long conversation in low voices, but I didn’t bother to listen. Evan would fill me in, if I needed to know.

Later, I suddenly remembered something Jacob had said. “Kristin, did you know Moffar is only the half-brother of Benedicte and her twin brothers?”

“Uhm, I think Mom did mention that at some point. Why do you ask?”

“I didn’t know either,” Evan said.

“I’m just wondering why Mom never talked about her twin uncles the way she talked about Jacob’s mom. Especially with having twins herself you’d think the subject might come up naturally.”

“I don’t remember you or your mom mentioning them either, when we were here last time,” Evan said to Jacob.

“Hmm, maybe because they’re living so far away we tend to forget they’re part of the family. It’s not as if they get in touch very often.”

“I won’t get in touch with those parts of my family who can’t accept us, either,” I muttered, thinking of most of my paternal uncles, aunts and cousins back home.

“What was that?” Kristin poked my leg, when I didn’t answer.

“He said he’s gonna ignore the stupid members of his family, and I’m sure that’s what Peter and Paul have been doing too,” Jacob replied. “They keep in touch with my mum, but it’s not as if they have much in common, apart from an intense dislike of Karl. I’m sure it’s simply accidental my twin uncles didn’t get mentioned before now. Hopefully our visiting might change that, especially if they do turn out to be gay.”

“Why don’t you invite them to spend Christmas or New Year with us, if they’re good company? That way Kristin and I can meet them too, and the Mama Bears might enjoy spending time with some nice family members.”

“That’s a brilliant idea, Evan,” Kristin and I said at the same time.

“Only kind of ideas I get.”

“Is that so?” Chris’ voice sounded like he was trying not to laugh. “I seem to recall you boasting to Evelyn you would raise more money for the shelter than her.”

“Your sister is so annoying,” Evan growled. He turned to explain to us. “She kept nagging Chris about this place for homeless gay teens, saying we should make more of an effort to contribute. Only, Chris already donates quite a lot of money, but he does it anonymously and not through her.”

Chris shrugged, but Evan snickered before he told us why. “He refuses to let Evelyn use us for any of her self-promoting agenda. She’d love to have her ‘handsome brother and his adorable boyfriend’ accompany her on visits and fund-raising events.”

We could all hear the quotation marks, and I bet Evan had been pissed about the ‘adorable’ part. Chris and Jacob might get away with calling us cute and things like that, but sisters or sister-in-laws? Absolutely not.

“However, you still have to come up with a plan to raise more money,” Chris pointed out.

“Don’t worry, I have several ideas.” Evan waved off any concerns with a smirk, and Chris muttered something like ‘That’s what I’m afraid of.’ We all laughed when my twin elbowed him with a mock scowl. However, Chris was undaunted and went for gold.

“What about the time you decided to bake a rum date and walnut cake for when we had friends over?”

“Oh no, please don’t, Chris.” I was intrigued to see Evan turn bright red.

“No, do tell,” the rest of us begged.

“The recipe said to soak the dates in one small cup of rum. Evan didn’t notice the rum I had in my cupboard was not the normal 40% proof but much stronger. However, the main problem was adding rum to the icing which was not part of the instructions. The crowning touch was to soak the walnuts he used to decorate the cake. I have to admit the taste was great, which is probably why we ate the whole thing.”

Evan hid his face in his hands as we started to laugh.

“What happened?” Tor managed to get out.

“Well, none of our four guests were able to drive or walk home, and the hangover was one of the worst I’ve ever had. Of course, we’d already drunk wine and beer with our meal, and Kevin had brought a very nice whisky as a gift. We may have sampled that too, but the end of the evening is sort of hazy. Evan was actually marginally sober, since he only drank one beer. But greedy-guts here did eat three large slices of cake. My friends haven’t dared to eat dessert made by Evan again after the night of the Rum Date Ambush.”

By now we were all laughing so hard, tears were rolling down more than one cheek.

“I bet he licked the icing bowl as well,” I wheezed.

“Shut up, Russ!” Evan pleaded and peeked at Chris between his fingers.

“Well, that explains it,” his fiancé muttered, and Evan groaned.

“Explains what?” Our nosy sister asked.

“Uhm, apparently the combination of sugar and alcohol makes Evan very…affectionate.” The tips of Chris’ ear slowly turned red, and I grinned.

“I bet he means horny as hell,” I whispered to Jacob, but unfortunately everyone else went quiet at the same time, so my words were too audible.

“Ruuuussss,” Evan hollered as Kristin broke down in a fit of giggles. Jacob raised his eyebrows at Chris who shrugged and nodded.

“Good to know,” my unflappable fiancé said, and I suddenly had a vision of him feeding me chocolate and liquor before fucking me thoroughly. Not that he needed to do anything other than get naked or kiss me to make me desperate for more.

Chris was busy nuzzling Evan and whispering in his ear. My twin tried to pout and pretend he was displeased, slapping his hand away and grumbling about ‘Treacherous boyfriend’ and ‘No cake for you, ever.’ But soon he was straddling Chris and tickling him until the dark-haired guy wrestled him into submission on the blanket and showered him with affectionate kisses.

Shortly after, Evan fell asleep, lying on his side with Chris’ arm holding him close. I suddenly noticed my twin had dark smudges under his eyes, and I thought my future brother-in-law’s gaze was not only caring but also concerned. He beckoned to me, asking me in a whisper to arrange the bags so Evan’s face was in the shade. Kristin may have felt the same concern, because she and Tor decided to take a walk, so they could talk without waking Evan.

I returned to Jacob and dug out my cell phone to mute it, and he did the same. We spent some time checking out the functions on my new device, in between small touches and kisses; how easily I had gotten used to showing my love in public. I found out I would be able to access my email and even play a few simple games; both would be useful during our travels. At some point Jacob fell asleep with his arm across my lower back and his face tucked into my side. I felt more at peace with myself and the world than I ever had before. Naturally this couldn’t last. Less than ten minutes later I heard a familiar voice sneer.

“I see my sons have turned into shameless sluts. It’s disgusting how you two parade your perverted preferences for all to see.”

I gasped and turned my head to see Father…no, Henry, standing behind Chris, who immediately stood up. He took a step forward and hissed: “Fuck off, you hateful, hypocritical bastard. Leave us alone, or I swear I shall call in every favor my grandfather owes me to have you exposed and discredited.”

“And does Vincent Aldercroft know about the games his oldest grandson and heir likes to play in certain clubs?”

Chris shrugged. “Maybe not, but I doubt he would care. He values intelligence, honesty, loyalty to family and friends, and in those aspects I’ve never failed. A threat to the well-being of the Aldercroft family members would be considered a declaration of war, and even if Evan doesn’t yet carry my name, my ring on his finger qualifies him to the same protection.”

Evan had woken up and joined his fiancé. At his concluding words Chris took Evan’s hand and kissed it, making sure the heirloom ring on his finger was prominent.

“I renounce you and your name,” Evan said to Henry. “Russ and I will be happy to take the names of our devoted spouses, and we have no wish to see you ever again.”

Henry’s glare slid over to where Jacob and I were standing with our arms around each other. I nodded to confirm the words of my twin. For a moment regret seemed to appear on our ex-father’s face. Then it settled into its habitual mien of uncaring disapproval. “That suits me fine, since I wash my hands of you.”

I suddenly noticed our irate sister storming up the lawn towards us, with Tor trailing behind. From the way Jacob tensed, he must have seen it too.

“Looks like you’ll get the chance to give your farewells to all your children,” Jacob told Henry just before Kristin arrived. Tor stopped within hearing distance, but probably didn’t intend to get involved unless she asked. I thought he was clever to respect her ability to fight her own battles.

Of course, Henry immediately went on the attack. “There you are, my dear. I’ve been looking for you. Could we speak for a moment, please?” Kristin gave a curt nod, and I noticed he didn’t try to suggest for her to walk away from the rest of us. He’d learned his lesson the other day.

“I have decided it’s a waste of my valuable time to persuade your brothers to come to their senses and behave properly. But you should consider your future and your career, my dear.” He probably wanted to add something about how Kristin shouldn’t throw herself away on a worthless Dane, but he wisely refrained. Maybe he wished to prevent an eruption, or he knew she would be more likely to date Tor if her father objected.

“You know the bank has an annual party to thank those employees who have done particularly well. I have two people receiving an award this year, and I’ll be invited too, to represent the Miami branch since Rupert’s wife is ill.” We all knew Henry’s boss was high in the hierarchy of the bank, and our parents liked to socialize with Rupert and his wife. I hadn’t been aware of her being sick, but then I rarely made an appearance at such business-related dinners. Somehow, Mom had managed to prevent Henry from insisting I play the role Evan used to fill while he lived at home. But I guess our father preferred bragging about his absent but successful kids instead of having the weak fat twin moping at the dinner table.

“It’s a unique chance to network with influential people in the banking world, and I would like you to go with me. I’m sure Bella won’t mind, even if she loves attending such events. I happen to know there will be at least two very suitable and handsome young men attending, one of whom is the successful manager of a prominent bank branch in New York. I’d like to introduce you to them, my dear.”

“Is that so?” Kristin said behind clenched teeth. From the flush of her face I knew she was angry. It rarely happened, but when it did, her temper could be scary. Even Henry almost looked apprehensive, but then he rallied.

“Of course, I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether they’re worth any attention. I have faith in your sensible mind and refined taste, my dear. I simply meant I’d be proud to show off my beautiful daughter, while at the same time giving you the chance to network. You know it’s essential for your future career.”

Kristin took a deep breath, probably to calm herself, before she gave him a piece of her mind. “You don’t have to dangle my career in front of me, Father. I can make up my mind and decide my choice without that. Just as Mom loves her children more than she cares about her cold, selfish, domineering husband, I chose love over business. I love Evan and Russell unconditionally, and if you cannot do the same, you have no place in my life.”

Tor moved to stand next to her but one step behind, looking calm and relaxed, but every bit the alert bodyguard. Kristin simply reached back and took his hand. She didn’t need to say anything else.

True to form, Henry hardly batted an eyelid, but I think her rejection hit him hard. Daddy’s girl was grown up and no longer needed him. “In that case, I need to get back to work and not spend any more resources on lost causes.”

Without any further words of leave, Henry turned his back on us and walked towards the wide path along the lawn. He moved towards the castle, and as I looked up there, I caught a glimpse of a blond woman in a blue dress sitting on a bench next to a bike. So that’s how he knew where we were! I suddenly realized I’d seen her at the airport when we picked up Mom and Kristin.

I decided not to keep watching. If he happened to look back, I wanted him to feel ignored. Instead I dragged Jacob over to Kristin, and Evan and Chris joined us. We hugged our sister and our men stood at our backs, like the pillars of strength and love they were.

“You were awesome. Those truths hit the bastard hard where it hurts. Now we can forget about him and get on with our lives.”

I hoped Evan was right, and we were finally free. Mom might miss her old existence, but we would make sure she never regretted choosing her kids over her husband.

“I think it’s time to share the good news with Mom,” I declared, and everyone grinned and nodded. Shortly after that, we were getting into an extra-large cab outside the Zoo and on our way to Dragør. Jacob and I had texted our moms to warn of our arrival, and he immediately received a positive reply telling us she had food enough for all of us to stay for dinner. I hoped it would be the first of many together with my new family.