Sincerely Stockholm

Chapter Six: Where to from here?

As Dame exited her Uber at the entrance of Gastrologik, she was immediately struck by the clean, minimal aesthetics of this renowned Stockholm eatery. As she was led to her table, she could see Blix off to one corner, kind of hidden in plain sight. The two greeted one another with a warm hug and quick peck on the cheek. "Thanks for the dinner invite. I'm really sorry that I ran out on you today Blix. I must admit, it was very impulsive, very childish of me," conceded Dame, wanting to immediately address her morning vanishing manoeuvre. Blix nodded with appreciation but replied contritely, "I should've known better Dame. It's funny, even though I am an insider within the music biz, I misjudged your confident air. I thought Dame, the lead singer, was Dame, the real person. We humans, at times, need to create a different personae to survive. There is no rule book, guiding you through how to deal with fame or the pressure of coming up with a hit record. I should have talked more about your feelings - how you truly felt about working without your bandmates for the first time. I just immediately cut to asking, 'So what kind of record do you want to make?'' Dame appreciated Blix's remarks, and knew that he, out of anyone, could appreciate the crazy world that Dame existed within. "Thank you Blix. I know that you were not trying to be hurtful with your comments. Upon reflection, I was always shielded from making those big decisions like musical direction or song selection. I never appreciated how much pressure my brother Rupert was under. And I guess, I never appreciated until this morning, how much vision he had for creating DAME. He knew the sound he was after. He knew what we needed to look like. How we needed to present ourselves on stage and perform," concluded Dame.

Just then a server appeared presenting the exquisite gastronomic assortment on Gastrologik's menu. Blix and Dame made their food selection while also ordering some wine, and carried on their conversation. Dame asked, "So Mr. Blix Anderrson, what plan do you have for me, an already burnout twenty-six year old former lead singer of a once world-famous band?" Blix smiled knowing that Dame was being slightly sarcastic. "I'm glad that you used the word 'burnt-out.' That's the heart of the issue right now. You are burnt-out and I am also burnt-out. So this is my proposal. I suggest that you and I take a mini-vacation from music. Afterall, we have both been going non-stop for the past five years." Dame jumped in, "Oh so where are you whisking me away to?" Blix smirked and continued to outline his plan, "Stockholm. When I first met you the other day, you were asking me about this great city, my hometown. And you know, I realized that I have really not taken the time to enjoy it. So my plan is this... We shall take a week off from any music making, and will instead explore the city. I will be the tour guide, taking you on a different Stockholm adventure every day." Dame liked what she was hearing, then cautiously double-checked, "So there will be no pressure to write anything?" Blix gave his signature grin and stated, "Absolutely not." And with that he raised his glass, clinking Dame's, "Here's to a well-deserved vacation for the both of us!" Dame raised her glass, responding, "Here. Here."

Blix's suggestion really lightened the mood for the rest of the dinner. As the two wrapped up the evening and Blix escorted Dame to her awaiting Uber, Dame inquired, "So which neighbourhood do we explore first?" Blix simply proclaimed, "We shall start with the most obvious one, Stockholm's Old Town, Galma Stan." Dame squinted her eyes, as if to say, I've heard of that place. Blix just continued, "Galma Stan is probably the most famous section from a tourist's point of view. It was the center of Stockholm since medieval times, and remained that way for many years after. So we will begin where Stockholm began." Dame smiled as she slipped into the back of her Uber, saying, "Sounds good. Just text me the time and place of where you want to meet in the Old Town."

The next day Blix didn't disappoint. The two met at a café in Stortorget square where Dame instantly recognized the iconic, colourful facades of the buildings that encircled Stockholm's oldest public square. Blix started to explain about the infamous bloodbath that occurred there when Dame reminded her producer turned tour guide of the time, "Blix, it's a tad early to talk about beheadings, don't you think?" Blix concurred and the pair had a full day exploring Stockholm's arguably most renowned district. For the rest of the day, Blix kept any gut wrenching facts to himself as they took in the Royal Cathedral of Sweden, the Storkyrkan, and the Royal Palace.

It seemed that Dame hardly had time to blink, when she found herself meeting Blix in Djurgården the next morning. Blix explained that this section of Stockholm was a more peaceful and relaxing vacation spot, a favourite recreational area for Stockholmers. Dame loved riding the little tram that made its way around the island, as well as seeing the Vasa man-of-war ship. But the Gröna Lund Amusement Park was her highlight - the pair realized that neither had been on a rollercoaster for quite some time. Feeling rather uninhibited after enjoying the rides, Dame thought it would be a good idea to go to the ABBA museum. "C'mon Blix, I can pick up a Mamma Mia memento or ABBA trinket for my Dad," Dame announced. The two were only in the museum for about ten minutes when word spread that Dame Beauty and Blix Andersson were present. As if from a scene straight out of A Hard Day's Night, the famous duo had to literally run to their hastily ordered Uber. Blix took the blame for the mob scene, even though it was Dame's idea.

While in the car, Dame's anxiety started to relapse. "Blix, I don't know if I'll ever get comfortable being out in public like this." As the Uber pulled up to the end of Dame's laneway Blix said reassuringly, "The reason why we went to Galma Stan yesterday was to see if we could be hidden in plain view within the most touristic section of Stockholm. Nobody recognized you or me. That's because we were outside a musical context. But as soon as we visited a music Mecca - suddenly we were spotted. I promise you, I won't lead us to any more obvious spots like that. It seemed you were getting really relaxed up until that point, no?" Dame considered everything Blix was saying, and then replied, "I suppose you're right. But just so you know, that kind of fanatical behaviour really triggers me." And with that, Dame exited the Uber, "Text me later Blix. Let me know where we are going tomorrow." Blix smiled, pleased that Dame was going to stick with the plan. Dame entered her cottage AirBnB, looking forward to catching up with Agneta and Erik. Before Dame could even step over into her hosts' side of the house, Agneta called to her, "Dame, you have a visitor." Dame was gobsmacked.

There, in Agneta's living room, stood Elliott.