Voyage 2002

"Knock it off, Lyngstad. Go get coffee, or something." April 2002 / Frida

She looked through the large window of her living room and thought that by now she was getting annoyed by the rain. Since she had returned to Zermatt, it had been raining non stop. It was a perfect reflection of her state of mind, though.Five days earlier she had caught a plane back home. Suddenly, she had been sick and tired of everything. Björn had called her three times in a row with questions, before she left. Right after that time Agnetha had dressed so nicely, he had stopped her at the end of the day. "Friddle, do you have a minute?"

"Yes, what is it?"

"Well..."

Okay, this was not a question like 'do you want salami on your pizza or not?' she felt. And although she was hungry and she was actually going to go to an Italian restaurant with Benny, she had naturally stayed put. "What is it, Björn?"

"Well, um, I need a brain."

"Since when does your own not work?"

"Not if it's about Agge..."

She had just managed to keep the sigh, she wanted to utter, inside. Exactly why she didn't know, but suddenly his comment irritated her. "What about Agge?"

Björn put his hands in his pockets and looked at her, scanning her. "Don't you think she acted differently today?"

Okay, there was the sigh after all.

"Sorry, I don't want to nag. You're having dinner with Benny, right?"

"No, you're not nagging, Björn. I'm just a little 'hangry'," she said. "Yes, she was more relaxed. Is that what you mean?"

Wrong answer, she knew. But what he wanted to hear, she couldn't get out.

Neither the other times he called her. "Frida, she is different, isn't she? Don't you think she's flirting with me? You really need to keep me on the ground."

"I wouldn't read too much into that."

Meanwhile, she had searched herself rotten. Why was Agnetha acting like this? Had she met someone?

No, she hadn't...

And she didn't need to check that with 'Minsting'. It was written all over her face... What had happened, had happened, but suddenly there was chemistry between Björn and her again. It was almost tangible. Everything had happened right under her nose and she hadn't been able to get the genie back in the bottle. And why she didn't know, but it annoyed her immensely.... Worst of all was Benny's attitude. If anyone was getting on her nerves, it was him. The way he treated her was more irritating than Agnetha and Björn squared. That night when they had gone for a walk outside, after a long day in the studio and a slightly overdone meal they had prepared together. Half a bottle of wine had been emptied by her, as well. But both of them were spacing out a bit. "Come on, let's go outside, Bennyman. Let's get some fresh air." And that's what they had done. They had talked and talked and talked. And laughed out loud. They really walked like a bunch of idiots along the canal of Djurgården. Sometimes arm in arm. They often did that.

"If you act like a moron in the studio one more time, I'll kick you out, Friddle."

She looked at him and knew she was showing a cheeky smile. That day she had been teasing him so much. They had been working on Don't Shut Me Down and she was bored. Agnetha had the lead and she was really kind of waiting for something to happen. While Benny was playing, she suddenly hit a key on the piano. With raised eyebrows, he looked at her, while his hands naturally went over the keys as if nothing had happened. He hadn't needed his eyes to play for millions of years. He probably never had. Everything went by itself. For a moment she considered letting it be a one-time action. He played on again and Agnetha sang. Björn, who was standing next to the piano with his guitar, interrupted them. "Um, Agge, what you did there at 'And so you should, I would', can you repeat that? That little crackle?"