Nordic Blue
Avery Sam
Nordic Blue
by Avery Sam
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Pekka’s Mansion
To the Girls
If For a Penny
Pekka’s Mansion
David gripped the steering wheel tightly, focused on his keeping the car on the narrow country road. After counting to three under his breath, he opened his mouth. “Nina, honey, are you sure this is the right way?”
“Yes,” she said, and David could still hear the peevishness in her tone. After a few more minutes of uncomfortable silence, she spoke up, this time her voice was more relaxed. “Davey, I’m telling you this long drive is totally worth it. Pekka’s mansion is huge and there’s a big ol’ swimming pool and about a million rooms and I’m sure they’re going to fire up the grill. You’ll love it.”
David nodded, not wanting to say what he really felt. Instead, he tried to find a neutral topic. “I know you told me, sweetie, but I forgot where you said Pekka is from. That’s quite a foreign name.”
Nina was lighting a cigarette and let out a little laugh as she blew out. “Yeah, it’s been so many years that I’ve known her that I forgot how strange her name must sound when you first hear it. Back in the dorms we used to call her Peek-a. Anyway, she’s from Norway. Her dad’s in the oil business. That’s how their family got all that money.”
David nodded, gritting his teeth as the inside of his car filled with the acrid smoke from Nina’s cigarette. He’d always hated smoking and never thought he’d date a girl who smoked. But a year ago when she’d walked into his accounting firm to fill in for one of the girls on maternity leave, he’d simply been blown away. David glanced over at her, once again struck by just how beautiful her long brunette hair was, the shape of her face and god, those sparkling green eyes, which seemed to positively dance when she was in a good mood.
David could see that she was beginning to relax, the cigarette’s foul magic taking effect. “Wow, you know,” said Nina sitting up straight in her seat, “this is the third year all the girls have gotten together like this at Pekka’s mansion. We were all so close, like sisters at university, and we swore we’d never lose sight of each other. Then Pekka had the brilliant idea of inviting us up to the mansion every summer. Last year was…” She paused, blowing out a stream of smoke before letting out a small chuckle, “Well every year it’s been a ton of fun. And I’m sure this year will be too!”
David favored her with a small smile. Inside, he wasn’t sure at all. He knew Nina had been kind of a wild party girl during her college days and he could only imagine what kind of dickens she and her gal pals had gotten up to while living it up in some rich bitch’s mansion. Still though, Nina’s youthfulness and vigor was partly why he’d been so attracted to her, finally gathering his courage to ask her out at the company Christmas party. “So who all is going to be there?” he asked as casually as he could.
“Well let’s see,” said Nina, rolling down the window and casually tossing her cigarette out the window. “Of course Pekka will be there. I think a couple of her cousins might swing by too. It’s a big family. But I’m not sure if her sister Ryla will be there. She’s kind of the black sheep of the family.”
“Is that so?” said David, slightly intrigued.
“Yeah, she’s kind of the wild child in their family,” said Nina, a frown on her face. “She’s kind of a… loose woman, if you get my drift and there’s been stories of her indiscretions and… uh, other things.”
“Well if you’re rich enough, I imagine you can get out of just about any kind of trouble,” said David.
“Oh David,” said Nina, irritated. “There’s no need to be so judgmental. Rich people are just like everybody else deep down inside. Anyway, the last I heard Ryla was in rehab but that was a few months ago. Other than that, I know for sure Brittany will be there. Pekka told me last night that she’s bringing Bill, her fiancé. I’ve heard so much about him. He’s a plastic surgeon, you know.”
“As a matter of fact, I didn’t know,” said David, trying to keep his tone neutral.
“Well you never listen to me,” retorted Nina. “Anyway, Bill and Brittany are for sure coming. And Michela’s already arrived. I heard her in the background when I was talking to Pekka.”
“And Michela is Norwegian too?” said David.
“No, she’s Italian,” continued Nina. “She transferred to our university in my last year but my god, that girl is crazy. She’s soooo fun. That girl can dance all night, let me tell you.”
David waited for her to continue but when he glanced over it was clear Nina was lost in her thoughts, evidently remembering some of the ka-razy things wild Michela had been up to during their college days.
“Oh,” said Nina, returning to the conversation, “Jenny can’t make it. She’s at some realtor’s convention in Chicago. Martha is pregnant, as you know.”
David nodded, having no earthly idea who Martha was. Nina always had a tendency to ramble on and on about her friends and he never could quite keep them all straight.
“And then there’s the twins, Lucy and Diamond, and they’re somewhere in Africa on another one of their wild treks. So yeah,” said Nina, “I think it’s just gonna be me, Brittany, Michela and then Pekka and her family. Don’t worry, Davey honey, you’re gonna have fun!”
David nearly flinched when she slapped him on his thigh. He hated when she called him Davey but he knew she only did it when she was in a good mood or wanted to cuddle. “So,” he said, “is it uncouth of me to ask or does anyone in Pekka’s family work?”
“God, David!” said Nina, exasperated. “Can’t you control your jealousy for once? Jesus. Pekka is an artist. And before you open your mouth and say one word about it, I’ll have you know she’s exhibited some of her paintings at some very prestigious galleries in New York. She’s very talented. Having a secure financial foundation is just a blessing because it gives her time to work on her art.”
David nodded, saying nothing. He thought back to his own university days and there sure as heck hadn’t been much time for partying. He’d worked two part-time jobs just to cover his books and fees and every night he’d dropped into his bed exhausted. Must be nice to be a rich bitch artist, he thought to himself. You dab a few strokes of paint on a canvas, call it art, show it to some pretentious New Yorkers and the whole world kisses your ass. But he knew not to say what he was thinking.
“Oh, here it is!” cried Nina, “take the next left where you see that gap in the trees.”
David slowed down and turned left where Nina had pointed. A few hundred yards later they pulled up in front of a massive black wrought-iron gate. There was a small metal box on a post to his left and David rolled down his window and pressed an illuminated button.
A moment later the speaker crackled. “Yes?” said a female voice with a slightly foreign accent.
“Pekka!” sang out Nina from her seat, “Open up, girl. It’s us!”
“Nina?” came the reply from the box.
“Yes, Pekka!” shouted Nina, “It’s Nina and Davey! We’re heeee-eeere!”
A moment later a switch activated and the massive iron gates swung open noiselessly on their hinges. When they were completely open, David rolled up his window and drove forward. He found himself on a well-paved asphalt road, long stands of trees lining either side, their branches meeting overhead to form a canopy. As his vehicle proceeded down the road, he goggled, realizing that he couldn’t even see the end of the drive.
“And this is all their property?” he asked, the amazement clear in his voice.
“Yep!” chirped Nina. “Looks like something out of a Jane Austen book or something, doesn’t it?”
David could only nod. Good Christ these people must be rich. He looked down at the speedometer and realized he’d been driving for a full five minutes and still the end of the drive wasn’t in sight. To their left and right was an enormous lawn, elegantly manicured, the occasional fountain and garden visible. It must take an army of landscapers to take care of this place, he thought to himself.
After what seemed like an eternity, the mansion itself hove into view. It was an enormous building with a large central structure several stories high with two adjoining wings. As a mental accounting exercise, David tried to count the number of windows on the mansion and gave up after reaching fifty.
Finally the road came to an end as they approached a large circular driveway. A few cars were parked haphazardly around the driveway. David noted glumly that they were all expensive luxury cars, some flaming red Italian sports cars and the rest heavy black German sedans, all of them worth more than his own apartment. David nosed his car to an open spot and came to a stop.
“Yay, we’re here!” said Nina, bounding out of the car. David exited more slowly, being careful to lock the doors. He’d worked hard to buy his car and had maintained it well but compared to these other vehicles his car looked like an old jalopy. Sighing, he stuffed his keys in his pocket and looked up to see a group of people pouring out of the massive front door of the mansion.
Squealing with delight, Nina began hugging and kissing her friends. David trudged up to the front door, only raising his head to look at his wife’s friends when he had placed his foot on the first step.
“David, honey!” cried Nina breathlessly, “Come here and let me introduce you to the girls. First, this is Pekka, our gracious host.”
A blonde woman, very athletic and fit, raised out one hand in greeting. “Hello, David, so nice to finally meet you,” she said, giving him a weak handshake. She was a very attractive woman, David noted, the royal blue of her simple but elegant dress perfectly matching the lighter arctic blue of her eyes. A classic Nordic beauty.
“And this here is Brittany,” said Nina. David saw she was more of a standard American, bigger and thicker than Pekka, but with a healthy vitality to her. Unlike Pekka, Brittany was dressed for poolside, wearing a black bikini top and a denim jeans skirt with sandals. “Nice ta meet ya,” said Brittany with a Texas drawl. “Nice to meet you too,” said David, getting a hearty handshake from the big girl. He couldn’t help notice that she had large, bounteous breasts that strained at the weak confines of her bikini top.
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