Because She Loved Him

Disintegration Part III

Agnetha looked at Frida and knew she saw it too which in fact made her feel better otherwise she would think that she had imagined it because the expression was gone in a split second. Agnetha resolved to talk to Frida about it when they were alone. Benny and Bjorn were oblivious, Bjorn eating and Benny focused on Stig. Agnetha tuned into what Benny was saying to Stig. " We are going to have a lunch meeting, just us Stig. We are going to look at just what you've signed us up for and then we will decide what we are happy to do." Stig was exasperated and said " you'll do what has been signed up for." Benny frowned and said " Stig, do not push me too far, as far as I'm concerned you have overstepped the line. These are not your decisions to make" Bjorn stepped in and tried to soothe troubled waters" Stig, leave us be, we will let you know when we have finished, it's no good trying to force us into things" Lena came into the room and went over to Gorel. " I can take over here, I was supposed to be dealing with the meeting" Gorel's expression changed immediately. "You were not!" she retorted. " You were employed to deal with Stig's other responsibilities while I deal with ABBA full time, it is not up for discussion" Gorel stood up. " We have a lot to do Lena and you are just delaying us. Please leave us to get on"

Lena was not going to give up but Stig said irritably" oh for god's sake let's go, we have a lot to do also and Gorel is correct"
Stig knew deep down that he had done wrong. He knew that he shouldn't have signed them up for so much without discussing it with them but he didn't have a choice. It would all be fine after the tour but for now he couldn't admit to them that his gambles had gone wrong and they needed the money. Hopefully they would never need to find out. He had never imagined for a moment they would question him, they had always trusted him before. His worries were great and he hid them with anger and bravado. His plan had been to get Lena in with them to act as a spy for want of a better word. Gorel was too close to ABBA and he knew she wouldn't break their confidence even for him. He had thought that he had Bjorn on board, he was easily swung by fame and riches and he thrived on the minutae of planning a big tour. He was relying on Bjorn to persuade the others to do it all but now he wasn't so sure if Bjorn could. He went back to his office a burdened man.
Lena meanwhile was still trying to stay in with ABBA and Gorel but to no avail. They were not going to allow it, they had too much private stuff to discuss so much to Lena's consternation, she found herself summarily dismissed. She had never found herself in such a situation before, she had always been able to get her own way. She was not happy as she went back to the office. She would have to find another way she thought determinedly. She settled at her desk and began to plan.

After Lena had finally left Benny got up and locked the door. " Is that really necessary?" asked Bjorn. " I would have hoped not" grumbled Benny "but the amount of interruptions we've had today have not been helpful!! At the very least I have indigestion and I'd like to finish my lunch!!" Frida smiled and said "agreed, let's eat and drink, we will feel much more ready to tackle this little lot" she gestured to the enormous pile of papers. There was silence for a while as lunch was eaten, Anna moved closer to Bjorn and hesitantly put her hand on his thigh as she always did. His leg relaxed and he slid his hand over hers gently. He twined his fingers tightly through hers and held on. He turned to look at her. She looked exhausted and his guilt was sharp. "Sorry" he whispered. " I love you" she whispered back. He squeezed her hand in response.
They had finally eaten their fill and moved all the food to the side table to be picked at over the rest of the day and evening. " I don't even know where to start" sighed Gorel. Bjorn suggested " how about chronologically? We have the Olivia Newton John show in May, which is two months away, we have TV special in spain then we will deal with album, then UNICEF then Switzerland, then the tour. What about that?" The others thought that made the most sense and agreed. Gorel sorted all of the paperwork accordingly
"What date are we flying?" asked Anna. Bjorn was reading the itinerary and he replied" it's says we are recording on Monday the 8th of May...do we know what we are performing Benny?" Benny was rummaging through the papers. " Ah, here. So. money, money, money, take a chance on me, dancing queen and Fernando. Those are ours. Then we have backing vocals on several. Let's see remember the days of the old school yard, if you love me, please Mr please,I just wanna be your everything, hopelessly devoted." Frida said "that's a lot of stuff to practice that's for sure" "in answer to your question Anna, if we are recording on the 8th. I would imagine we will fly on the 3rd or the 4th to give us time to acclimatise and practice" said Bjorn quietly. " Ok. I think the kids shouldn't come then, it will be too long a flight for such a short time unless we are staying longer afterwards?" "I think not" said Benny " perhaps a few days but no more than that, hopefully it'll raise our profile before the tour"
"Gorel, do you think on top of the notes you will write, could you write down the dates of things separately so that Bjorn and I can organise the children properly. It would be nice if they could come on tour for some of the time. "Of course" agreed Gorel smiling. "So let's agree on a departure date for May, what about leaving the night of the 3rd so you have all day with the kids. We can then fly overnight" suggested Benny. "That's a good idea" agreed Bjorn. He was trying to make up for his earlier attitude, he looked at Agnetha and said "then hopefully you can sleep through most of the flight because we will have had a full day and it won't be quite as scary for you" Agnetha wasn't too convinced but she nodded anyway eager not to upset the new found peace."If those songs are confirmed, we can practice them here before we go, that will be easy" said Frida. " while we are practising those, the boys can do some work on the album perhaps, listening to different music might help" Benny nodded in agreement and said "possibly, the itinerary doesn't give another date for filming so I'm guessing its all to be done on one day. That will be hard work" "Perhaps its the only day we can all be together" wondered Agnetha. She was exhausted at just the thought. Gorel joined the conversation "on this paper it says they want thank you for the music for the end credits so that's another one to add to your list" Benny nodded and wrote it on his list. " Are we providing the wardrobe for us?" asked Agnetha. Gorel consulted the paperwork and said " it doesn't actually say, I'll chase that up tomorrow" Agnetha blushed and said " the thing is, I'd rather we did it because I would be devastated if I got there and nothing fitted, I'm not in the shape I'd like to be really. I haven't been able to get back into shape as quickly as I did after Linda. I think I'm too old" she looked embarrassed and sad. Frida felt her pain and said quickly " Anna, you look beautiful and definitely not fat but I agree that we would both like to pick what would suit us and take it with us. We've both had to wear some terrible stuff over the years" "Thank you Frida, I am grateful but I am well aware that I'm fat not beautiful, can we check please if we can take our own wardrobe, we will match in with theirs if they give us details" Gorel wrote that on her to do list. Benny sighed dramatically " Bjorn and I are the luckiest men in the world, we are locked in the same room as the two sexiest women in the world. Anna my dear girl I've never seen anyone further from fat in my life and as for the terrible clothes...Frida, love of my life I still lust after that short skirt" he winked at his Frida and then it was her turn to blush furiously. Bjorn smiled and stood, he needed to nip this fat nonsense in the bud. He wrapped his arms around Anna's waist and lifted her clear off the chair and into his arms. He hoisted her over his shoulder into a fireman's lift, she screamed and he said " Anna Ulvaeus, admit you aren't fat! Admit it! I can hold you like this for days! "But I AM Bjorn!" she wailed "Anna, if you were fat would I be able to still lift you like I did 10 years ago?? Admit it Anna. You're not fat! You're easier to carry now than you've ever been!!" From her undignified position, hanging upside down with her hair brushing the floor but with a great view of Bjorn's arse she hardly felt in a position to argue. Bjorn started a slow spin that made her head whirl and he said " say after me... i'm not fat, I look amazing and Bjorn loves me as I am" Agnetha could hear Frida and Benny laughing affectionately at them. "But..." He interrupted her "say it Anna and believe me..or i'll remind you that I have the world's sexiest bottom in the palm of my hand and its vulnerable" She felt his palm sliding around her bum and she smiled finally. " He moved the spinning up a gear and finally she yelled "OK!!! I'm not fat, I look amazing!!" "and????" questioned Bjorn still spinning " oh GOD! Bjorn I'm dizzy....um Bjorn loves me as I am" she yelled laughing. She pinched his arse in retaliation. "OW!!" it was Bjorn's turn to yell. " You have a great arse" she said. He lifted her back up over his shoulder and held her nose to nose in his arms. He brushed her hair out of his way and looked her in the eye " Now stop it Anna, I never want to hear those words from you again." " You don't want me to tell you that you have a great arse?" she teased. Bjorn rolled his eyes and laughed. "You can tell me that any time, but no more fat talk please" He kissed her gently and put her down, holding onto her until she was steady.

"Are you two quite finished??" enquired the amused voice of Benny. "Honestly being around you two is like a rollercoaster ride, we do have a lot to do today you know. Vastly entertaining though this little show is" Agnetha blushed and sat back down, smiling at Gorel's laughter.

They worked on then into the early hours of the morning, putting together a plan for the album and discussing what they were willing to do for the tour. They looked at what Stig had signed them up for and unfortunately they could not back out but they put together a plan to spilt the tour into manageable legs and while Agnetha wasn't 100% happy, she was definitely able to live with it.

Frida and Agnetha decided to take a break and stretch their legs, they went to the bathroom. Agnetha sat on the waiting for Frida to finish and when she came out Agnetha said " Can I talk to you?" "Of course!" said Frida jumping up on the counter with her. " I know everyone thinks I'm paranoid and silly but this time I can't help it, I'm worried about that Lena girl, I don't like her, she gives me the creeps. I know its probably my imagination but she always seems to be watching me, she doesn't seem to like me at all but i have never done anything to her, if she's not watching me she is watching Bjorn. I think he does not notice because he is so busy" Agnetha sighed and said " I don't want her dealing with Abba stuff but she is trying to take Gorel's place and I don't want that either" She tried to smile and said "now is the time to convince me that nothing is wrong and its just my silly imagination run wild again." Frida was silent for a moment. " Anna, my friend. I cannot tell you that. I have also noticed that Lena is acting oddly. I think we must watch her and if anything else happens we will tell the boys" Agnetha was equal parts relieved and alarmed to have Frida agree with her but also felt better for having spoken to Frida about it. She didn't feel quite so alone. They returned to the boys and settled again ready to work even though they were exhausted.
"We still have to talk about UNICEF and Switzerland then I think we will be done for now" said Bjorn " I am aware that we've been at this for hours and we've done really well but we are all exhausted. Stig left long ago. UNICEF hits us in January next year. This will be great exposure and a chance for us to give something back. It'll only be the one song that we perform and potentially a bit of group work. How do you all feel about it? I was thinking we could donate the royalties from one track to UNICEF. It's the year of the child." Benny and Frida were both nodding enthusiastically. They looked at Agnetha and she was smiling and a bit teary. " I think that's a lovely idea" she said wiping her eyes. " Benny and I were thinking we would write a special song for that." he commented. " No pressure there then" Frida said knowingly. " God, I need coffee " groaned Benny rubbing his eyes. "I'm hungry too" The others laughed at him. Agnetha made some extra strong coffee and they all snacked on the takeaway food. They discussed the trip to Switzerland at length as it was going to be a TV special. They came to decisions about travel, content and costumes. By the time they had done all that they were all dropping with tiredness but content that they had averted a crisis. Bjorn yawned widely and looked at Agnetha whose eyes were closing repeatedly, Benny was exhausted too and could barely keep his eyes open. Frida was doing slightly better than him but still struggling to keep awake. " Look, our house is much closer than yours why don't we all go back to ours. I'm ok to drive but not far. Benny and Frida, neither of you look fit to get behind the wheel. Stay at ours again tonight, then we can sleep in because the kids are at Anna's parents. We can then be fully ready for the 'showdown' with Stig tomorrow" "Actually, that sounds amazing" mumbled Frida. "Yep, we're in" said Benny. They got themselves sorted out and locked up. Frida and Benny climbed in the back of Bjorn's car and Bjorn helped Anna into the front seat. It was 0215 in the morning. Tired as they were, no one noticed the car that followed them home