A Minor Misunderstanding

Anna stood waiting at the Inn’s front gate. Her smiles were getting readable – young Thom could see she had something planned. And indeed she had. She had been talking to the blacksmith about restoring the old Inn and reopening it. The blacksmith was trilled with the idea and was convinced it would bring a new vitality to this seemingly cataleptic town. He was convinced the villagers would embrace the idea and offer their help to speed up the work. Once completed, some of the village boys could work in the place instead of having to find a job in the city.
While Anna was doing a little joy dance in front of young Thom he wondered if the future would indeed be so clear and simple. It occurred to him that the blacksmith was not a villager and that the villagers might react quite differently to the idea than expected.
Young Thom did not know what had brought this village to its cataleptic state - as the blacksmith had well put it - but he did know it could not have been a trivial matter. And very likely the Inn had something to do with it.
Young Thom was not given time to ponder on it any longer as Anna grabbed his hand and guided him to the kitchen. Young Thom willingly followed and observed the graciously moving slim figure in front of him. Anna took a knife and an aubergine and put them in young Thom’s hands. Then she stood behind him, grabbed his hands and showed him how to cut vegetables like a real French chef as she taught her children during cooking lesson. Young Thom being a little bigger than her average student meant that Anna had to push close to him and rather than look over his shoulder she had to bend sideways to see what was happening on the table. Young Thom did his best to concentrate on the vegetable in front of him.
More than an hour later, Anna raised her glass to toast on a new beginning.
Young Thom followed her example though not completely sure what his place would be in this new beginning and if indeed it was what he wanted. But he had no future plans of his own and what could he oppose to the vision presented? The life presented was not far beyond what he had ever dared to dream of. All he had ever thought about was a vague notion of a life that was in relation to a job in the factory or as a blacksmith. Young Thom stared at his glass of dark red wine in which the flame of the candle seemed to dance around like a genie. With each taste of the delicious meal, the though of a future in the Inn came to settle comfortably in young Thom’s mind.

It was a full moon as Anna and young Thom walked along the small stream towards the top of the hill that overlooked the village. It wasn’t mid summer yet, but the night refused to cool down. Anna’s scarf was hanging loosely over her shoulders, revealing a long white neck that looked almost blue under the moon’s light. While stepping over a fallen tree she had grabbed on to young Thom’s arm and had held on to it for the rest of the walk.
Young Thom strolled with his hand in his pockets and noticed he had a grin on his face he just didn’t seem to be able to get rid of. Due to the wine, so he thought and he laughed out loud. This made Anna curious and she did not accept young Thom had no reason for the laugh. Young Thom saw no other option than to escape by running up the last slope of the hill. But right before the top, the wine took the upper hand and young Thom fell flat into the high grass. Young Thom took one deep sigh as he stared straight up at the moon and felt Anna lying down next to him. After a while she leaned over him, punched him in the stomach and remarked he hadn’t said a word about restoring the Inn. Indeed he hadn’t, so young Thom thought and he raised his hands up to the moon and shouted as loud as he could that it was the greatest idea of all! The greatest idea of all! Anna couldn’t stop laughing as young Thom took her wrists and pointed her arms toward the moon and they both shouted over and over again it was the greatest idea of all!
As all went quiet again, young Thom – still holding on to Anna’s wrist – watched her breath deeply in and out. Slowly he lowered his hand along her arms.

Where the road split between the schoolhouse and the Inn they said goodnight and went of, each in their own direction. Young Thom strolled with his hands in his pockets again, looking down at the ground, kicking every little stone he could spot in the dim light.
That he should not worry about it anymore she had said – it was just a minor misunderstanding, nothing had happened. But it was not to happen again.

Next : No more Patience