Love Fool

16 Forgiving Sven

To believers of a higher love, this chapter is yours. Enjoy the Kygo & Whitney Houston cover of Higher Love by tapping the media box above. I was glad to hear this song was released.

***

Late Saturday afternoon.

An hour and a half later, after taking all of Sven's belongings and placing it in my walk-in wardrobe, we were on the way to my mother's house for the spare bed.

"Are you sure you can fit it in the car?" Sven asked.

"It's a fold-up bed, so it should be fine." I replied.

"Have you checked? Have you fitted it in the car before?"

"Nope. I had a removal van take all my stuff when I moved away from Ben."

"Who's Ben?"

"Ex-boyfriend."

"Oh."

I glanced at Sven, who wore Ray-Ban aviator sunglasses, which made him look hotter than an Armani model. I also noticed his tight expression, and the way the corner of his lips twitched, when I mentioned an ex-boyfriend.

Interesting.

"We're here now," I announced, as we pulled into Mum's driveway.

She lived in a quiet neighborhood, and her well-manicured front garden could have been in a feature on Australia's Homes and Gardens magazine. I, on the other hand, did not have a green thumb. Hence, one reason why I preferred inner-city apartments.

"Are you nervous about meeting my mum?" I asked.

"A little," Sven answered, removing his sunglasses and placing them in the glove box.

"She'll be right, mate"

"Huh?"

"It's an expression that means everything will be fine."

***

I couldn't have been more wrong.

Not only did my overly chummy mum bear-hug the life out of Sven—a complete stranger to her—after letting us in, but the whole gang was there: Jack, Mary, Verity, and Pinhead. They were sitting on Mum's sofa and chairs, while drinking tea or coffee and eating her home-baked chocolate cake.

"So this is the Sven that Eva's been raving about," Jack beamed, standing up and walking over to shake Sven's hand.

Yep, they were the same height, I thought.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Eva's brother, Jack. This is my girlfriend, Mary, sitting on the right, and over there to the left is our sister, Verity, and her boyfriend, Rodney." Jack pointed at each member of this little motley crew.

"Call me Razzer," Pinhead added, with his high nasal pitch.

"That's Pinhead," I whispered to Sven, who nodded, hiding a smile. I already confessed to Sven my inner desire to remove the Pinhead from my sister's life and throw him into one of Dante's nine circles of hell.

"This is my mother, Nerissa," I said, pointing at the tiny brunette woman holding a piece of cake for Sven. My sister, brother, and I owed a lot to this single mother, who raised us alone after our father left us for a younger woman years ago.

"You'll need some sugar to give you energy," Mum said, while Jack snickered as he returned to his seat next to Mary.

"I'm sure Sven's getting plenty of sugar," Jack remarked, with a wicked twinkle in his eye.