Benny fetched himself a cup of tea and went and settled himself at the piano stool, there were no words needed, he just started to play the melodies that were circling in his mind. Some of them were famous ones, some were not but the other three knew them. Bjorn spied his guitar in the corner and went to pick it up and tune it. It had been longer than he cared to admit since he had actually picked up a guitar much less played but these were new times and he wanted to play with Benny like they used to.
Frida had settled herself on the sofa next to Anna content just to listen for a while as Benny and Bjorn found their feet, she drank her tea quietly and took a sideways glance at Anna and was delighted to see that Anna's eyes were without stress or tension and they looked very much to her like they were content and peaceful eyes, she didn't think that she wanted to know when the last time was that Anna had looked like this prior to Bjorn's return. Anna reached over to squeeze Frida's hand "Thank you for this Frida" she whispered "I will at least die happy" Frida went to protest and Anna squeezed her hand again "Frida shush darling, I didn't say I was intending to die anytime soon nor did I say this would beat me" she paused to listen to Benny and Bjorn bickering gently then whispered "Without you we never would have made our peace. This isn't about whether the new songs ever get released darling. This is about US, the songs are incidental, we aren't doing this for the fans or for business, we are doing this for us no matter how long it takes" Frida considered her words carefully and realised that she was right, she realised that it wasn't about the new songs or the Abbatars or even their fans. This had become a chance to right so many wrongs that they had done to each other, right wrongs that had been done to them. It was the chance that she had needed to go and get her Benny back and to heal him, it was Bjorn's chance to get out of a toxic and loveless marriage and love his Anna and it was Benny's chance to prove to himself that he was still the maestro.
"I'm grateful that the cancer came for me Frida" Frida choked on her tea as she glared at Anna "What a terrible thing to say little one" she said when she had recovered herself. Frida spluttering and coughing had alerted Benny and Bjorn to the conversation and they stopped to listen "Hear me out Frida" pleaded Anna "I will beat this, I will and now you're all here I have even more of a chance but if I hadn't been ill none of our barriers would have fallen. We may all have been too stubborn, too set in our ways, too scared. My illness has given us all a shock, made us realise that life is too short to fight. It's opened lines of communication and I know for sure I wouldn't have sung unless I thought it would be my last chance with you all" Frida sighed as she searched for Anna's hand "I'd like to say you were wrong but I understand your point even if I don't like it" Benny looked at Bjorn and said "She's right you know, it gave us all the arse kicking we deserved though I am sorry you have it Anna darling. More sorry than I can ever say" Anna grinned and said "Well, it's been an experience and I'm not sure I'm sorry. It's made me re-evaluate my life and be brave. It has bought us all back together" she shrugged and said "Who knows if we'd be sat here if I didn't get it" Bjorn was devastated at her words and carried on playing the guitar as he could not trust himself to speak. he wasn't ready to admit that she may have a point. He would like to think that he would have been brave enough eventually to make her talk to him but she was right that the cancer had given him the shock he had needed to change his life. Anna knew though, despite his silence "Bjorn, stop it please. You're here now, if it helped to bring you back to me then all well and good but you said you loved me regardless. So it doesn't matter how we came back to each other. I needed the kick up the arse too, we all did." she paused for breath "I need to find a positive reason for all this Bjorn to help me win and there is nothing more positive than you and me and Benny and Frida and ABBA. It makes it more worthwhile" she took a sip of her tea "Play for us again you two" Bjorn smiled as they started again, he felt better but he knew that he and Anna would talk about this again when they were alone later just so he could ease his own mind and hers.
Those first hours settled at Viggso were just beautiful as Benny got his muse back, he played nearly everything from ABBA, some pieces from the Orkester, he finally let the music flow. Bjorn had sat next to him patiently accompanying him with the guitar. He stopped playing suddenly to everyone's surprise and got up off the stool making a beeline for Frida, he tugged her up off the sofa and said "Dance with me, like we used to" he asked quietly. Bjorn smiled gently and carried on playing, just a little slow melody that they had never done anything with but had always used to warm up. Frida had gone into Benny's arms willingly and they swayed back and forth in the limited space. Anna had tears in her eyes as she watched Benny taking the reassurance he needed for that's what it was, he was fretting and he needed Frida. She got up off the sofa and went to join Bjorn, it had been decades since they had played together but she gently settled and accompanied him on the piano to give Frida and Benny something to dance to. Bjorn leaned forward and kissed her cheek gratefully and so they played.
Bjorn was heart and soul deep happy, he was playing music with the love of his life and watching his best friend dance with the love of HIS life, his thoughts meandered to a song that he wrote so many years ago for very different reasons but it fitted the moment "sometimes I wish that I could take a picture and save it from the funny twists of time" he whispered. Anna heard him and took one hand off the piano to cup his cheek, she leaned forward to kiss him understandingly "I want to stay here in this moment Anna" he said quietly "Look at us" he said "I know baby, I feel it too. We have so much more to look forward to, many more moments" she played on and slid into "I'm Still Alive" Bjorn picked up the accompaniment quickly and she hummed the tune happily. Benny and Frida had not faltered in their dance but they were both delighted to hear Bjorn and Anna play together, it didn't matter for now that there was no singing.
Benny kissed Frida gently and whispered "I'm ready" he didn't let her go though and made his way back to the piano. Anna moved willingly and returned to her spot on the sofa and Bjorn joined her sitting so that he could still play his guitar. Benny made Frida sit next to him like she used to and then he played.
It was not the music he and Bjorn had been trying to work on before, it was something entirely different. It made Bjorn sit up in genuine surprise for even he had not heard it before. It was deep and sweeping, beautifully melodic and they could all hear the love and the mastery behind it. Bjorn didn't bother to even try and accompany Benny, he wanted to hear everything that Benny had first. He wanted to feel it all. He jumped as he felt Anna climb into his arms, he dropped his guitar so she could get to him. He tucked her into him as they all listened spellbound, they all knew that this was something special. There were no words and as the last note faded away Bjorn couldn't deny that along with the girls he had tears in his eyes. Benny cleared his throat and said gruffly "That's it so far, it needs work. You probably think it's terrible" Bjorn cleared his own throat "Benny, you know it's great, you can feel it. Trust your instincts. Mate that's beautiful. Where did it come from?" "Us" was Benny's simple answer. "I have a title too, you say it to Anna all the time but it applies to all of us for different reasons" he paused to wipe Frida's tears away "Don't cry darling" he told her. "What do I say?" asked Bjorn "You never let her think badly, you chase away her demons. You always have" Bjorn felt Anna nodding into his shoulder "I want to call it 'I Still Have Faith In You' because it means something to all of us. Frida has never lost faith in me either and you've never left me once in all these years. You still have faith in me even when I'm a drunken bastard. You're my brother" Benny heaved a relieved sigh as he finished what he wanted to say. Both girls were in floods of tears and Bjorn couldn't deny that he wasn't far behind them. "Benny, I think you're a genius" Anna managed to choke out. "It's a perfect title, you're right he does say that to me all the time and your music is just wonderful. I don't know what else to say darling" she rummaged about for a hanky and didn't succeed so Bjorn gave her his. "Benny, it's an amazing bit of work. We need to write it down today, while you have it firmly in your mind" Bjorn was hiding his emotions with practicalities, Frida was so proud of Benny that she felt like she would literally explode with joy. She worked hard to stem her tears and wrapped her arms tightly around him "God I love you" she said "My Benny. My maestro. Look at you. That's right up there with the best you've ever written and it's only in its first stage. It's fantastic and I couldn't be more proud" Benny blushed furiously "You don't have to say all that. It's not right yet" Frida scowled at him and poked him in the chest "Benny we bloody love it. It's fantastic and you KNOW it really" He looked around the room and saw everyone's emotional reactions and them agreeing with Frida and he finally said "Really? It's good enough?" "Benny it's so much better than good my friend, it's brilliant" Bjorn said firmly "and it blows that other one we wrote right out of the water and why is that?" he teased "because we have the girls" Benny grinned "Oh alright!! I admit it, you were right" he pretended to huff indignantly and proceeded to fill the girls in on their drunken conversation at Vallentuna. Both girls giggled and laughed even louder when Benny mumbled "I'm hungry now, can we work on it later?" Bjorn had to chuckle "Hungry now the nerves have gone Benny?" he questioned "Something like that" Benny replied laughing. "I'll work after lunch"
Frida went off to make said lunch, it wasn't fair for Anna to keep doing it though Frida knew she loved to feed them all. Benny poked up the wood burner and put some more logs on as the rain had started once again outside and he wanted to keep the cabin warm and cosy for all of them and especially Anna who was still vulnerable to the cold.
Frida came back with soup in mugs and buttered rolls on a tray and said "I've put the stew on low for later. It can keep warm on the wood burner when we cook the rest for supper" she said as she put the tray down on the little coffee table "Do you need your tablets Anna? Are they in your bag?" "Goodness, I nearly forgot. I'll get them. I need a wee anyway before lunch. Where is my bag? I don't remember bringing it in" she questioned herself. "I put it in your room when you two were down on the beach" Benny answered "Thank you darling" she got off the sofa and went to have a wee then went into their room to get her tablets. Frida winked at Benny and the silence that had stretched gently was suddenly interrupted by Anna squealing. Bjorn jumped a mile and was just about to go charging in after her with all guns blazing when he was stopped in his tracks by Anna rushing out of their room with a half opened bag in her hands "There's another bag!! Are we staying here tonight??? Are we really??? There's clothes in here and my night time tablets and my morning ones" she was out of breath and babbling with excitement "and Bjorn has stuff too. Are we really staying?? My pajamas are here. Who did this??" she swung her gaze to Bjorn who she could see looked equally poleaxed she looked at Frida. "You did this" she breathed "Am I really staying? Can I stay?" "God that was worth all the effort Benny darling" Frida laughed "I did it with a lot of help from Benny, Linda and Christian." "Yes darling you can stay, we will stay. It's what you need Anna darling" Benny interjected. "We need it too. A little holiday" "When did you do this??" Anna demanded. Frida giggled and said "when you were elbow deep in flour making three apple pies, you'll have to use my toiletries though. I thought you'd notice yours were gone. I bought extra." "Same for you Bjorn, you're stuck with my toiletries mate." Benny said laughing. "Linda sorted your tablets when she stole a cake and went to the loo upstairs. They know we are here and safe" Frida reassured Anna.
"I had no bloody idea I could cry so much" grumbled Anna as she wiped her eyes with Bjorn's very soggy hanky "but I'm so happy" she sniffled and looked at Bjorn "You didn't know either did you?" He shook his head "No baby, I swear I didn't but I'm absolutely delighted. I couldn't be happier. Thank you you two. It's the best surprise" he grinned." It's been a very long time since anyone managed to surprise me. I am genuinely grateful guys for me as well as for Anna" "How long do we stay Anna baby?" he asked her. Anna carried the bag to the sofa and counted her tablets, she looked up grinning "Linda put enough in until Saturday morning!! That's three whole days!! I haven't been away for so long since I went to London 4 years ago!" Frida laughed and said "You might have to wash your underwear in the sink and we can live in pajamas some of the time" "I couldn't care less" Anna said stoutly. "This is a dream come true and I shan't care what we have to do" Anna genuinely couldn't believe her luck as she took her tablets, the last thing she had ever thought she would do was stay overnight at Viggso but she had to admit she felt safe and happy.
The other three watched over her as she demolished her lunch with an appetite that they had not seen from her for a while and their hearts melted at the sparkle in her eyes. They cleared up after lunch and this time it was Bjorn that felt the need to play and he settled next to Benny as they worked on Benny's music together and Bjorn added his input and wrote it all down. It had always been him that put pen to paper and transcribed Benny's dreams so that they made sense on paper, he was the only one who could sort out the tangle of ideas that Benny produced. Benny was not one for writing, to him he didn't need too, it was in his head. Bjorn, for the second time in recent memory felt that he was at home, doing exactly what he was supposed to be doing, exactly when he was supposed to be doing it. He looked up from his papers and caught Benny's eyes on him twinkling. Benny leaned forward and whispered "Bjorn, my heart is happy" Bjorn stopped what he was doing and replied quietly "that makes two old hearts Benny"
The girls were content to just sit on the sofa and listen to the building of the song, like they had so many times before and eventually Frida started to pick up the melody and play around with it, she poked gently at Anna with her foot and nodded encouragingly when Anna met her eyes. Anna took herself a deep breath and hummed along quietly at first and as her confidence grew she put in some harmonies with Frida. No words just beautiful sound. Benny and Bjorn looked at each other and kept playing and as Frida pushed them both gently Anna upped her game and was soon harmonising with Frida like there hasn't been a 35 year gap. Benny automatically compensated for the slightly lower tone of both Frida and Anna but he had to admit it wasn't a lot different. "Goodness I need to practice" Anna suddenly moaned. "Frida sounds great but I think I'm flat" Benny snorted "Anna you really couldn't sing flat if you tried. You're definitely not flat. You sound amazing, just a bit out of breath but if you haven't sung for 4 years singing is really physical at the level you do it" "I agree" Frida said "I feel out of breath too. We both need to practice our breathing techniques. Our voices are great, we've just run out of air" she laughed. Anna chuckled "Modest as always Frida" "Well it's true darling, we both have great voices, we must have. People have offered us billions to sing again" That made Anna laugh "Ok, we'll practice our breathing. I'll believe you but make sure you tell me if I sound awful" Frida put her hand on her heart "I promised you didn't I? So did Bjorn" "and I promise too Anna" Benny said reassuringly "but you don't"
Their evening was whiled away just gently jamming like they used to, it was really like no time had passed. Anna lit candles, turned the lights off and curled up on the sofa once she had pulled the curtains and took great pleasure in her freedom, to her it was freedom no matter how others viewed it. She had no alarms, no cameras and no security systems and yet she felt safer than she had in decades. She did not sing again that night, she was content with the progress made and when Bjorn finally decided he was ready for bed she went with him gladly. The simple pleasures of getting ready for bed in such a tiny space were not lost on either of them as they remembered where they had started and how far they had come. They laughed as they squeezed into the bathroom in turn, they could hear Benny and Frida bickering just as they always had. They squeezed into their tiny bed and Bjorn fidgeted and grumbled until he'd got Anna right where he wanted her which made her giggle and snort with laughter, he didn't remember it being so small when they were young. They laughed even more when Benny bellowed "Just you two remember how thin the walls are" "Likewise" Bjorn shouted back "we had to listen to you two back in the day" Frida laughed loudly, hugely amused "He does have a point Benny darling. Night you two" she called. "Night" Anna replied.
Viggso that night worked it's magic and for the rest of the time that they were there. Anna slept, ate and gathered her strength. She started to sing when she was asked, she practiced her breathing with Frida. Bjorn for his part watched over Anna like a hawk, he and Benny re learnt their craft. Benny basked in the unstinting faith of the others and started to believe in his abilities again and Frida? Well she had always had faith so she joined Anna relaxing and practicing their breathing techniques and making sure that Benny knew just how much he was loved. On top of the music they treated it like a proper little break, they walked, sat on the beach, laughed and relaxed, it did them all the world of good.
By the time they left Viggso they were all very different people, they had the bones of a decent song under their belt and faith that the magic of Viggso would sustain them in the weeks to come
