Page 42 of AMS.TER.strum
‘Are…you…?’ she stammers.
‘I get that all the time,’ Luuk says. ‘The resemblance.’
I dissolve in a fit of giggles the moment she leaves. ‘OMG! The resemblance?’
He shrugs. ‘You can add lying bastard to the list of my shortcomings.’
I gasp. ‘Probably the shortest ever in existence. And you are neither a liar nor a bastard.’
‘You’re seeing me through rose-coloured glasses, friend.’
Does friend taste as annoying to his mouth as it does to my ears? ‘I am not! Let’s just agree that you’re a phenomenal human being.’
‘Maybe you bring out that side of me,’ he says with a wink. ‘Darlin’.’
I playfully slap his hand on the table. ‘Is it my idea or are you faking that strong Southern accent of yours?’
He gives me a lopsided smile. ‘Only when I want to impress.’
‘Judging from the lingerie collection, this must be pretty often.’
His expression becomes pained. ‘Seriously, you shouldn’t believe whatever shit you read online, Corrie.’
‘Not all of it.’ I wink. ‘Since we’re on the lingerie subject…’ I grab my bag and rummage through it, hoping I haven’t accidentally taken out and forgotten the little silly gift I got him. ‘This is for you.’
He takes the paper envelope carefully, as if afraid it’ll fall apart. ‘What is it? And haven’t we agreed to no gifts, unless it’s for the kids? Your rule, which I still don’t like, by the way.’
‘Fine, we did. But this was just too cute to let go of.’
Luuk opens the package and starts laughing. This laugh is worth breaking every single rule for. He lifts the fridge magnet I found as I was walking by a souvenir shop. It’s a bra on a hanger, and in the empty space between the straps, has words: You are my support system.
‘So that you remember Amsterdam whenever you open your fridge at home.’
Luuk’s smile dims. ‘I’m not at my apartment that often for it to feel like home. But I’ll carry it with me. Although I don’t need a memento to remember Amsterdam.’
My heart constricts at the fact that he doesn’t have a place to call home. It’s so unfair for this beautiful man, who was uprooted from his home here due to circumstances beyond his control, and now is constantly on the move—the downside of doing something he loves.
Does his place in Nashville echo not of literal emptiness but lack of presence? Could it be that some of the times he’s called to check on me were for his sake? Because my voice on the phone, sometimes together with my face on his phone screen, made his loneliness somewhat lighter?
‘What do you call home, Luuk?’
He flips the small metal rectangle between his fingers, studying the colourful relieved side, then the black magnetic one.
I’m about to ask if he’s okay when he lifts his gaze, his hazel eyes clawed on mine. And his next words make my heart miss a beat.
‘This, here. You, the kids. I’ve never felt more at home than I do around you guys.’
Chapter Eighteen
2020
Corrie
‘It’s so amazing to see you again!’
I hope my voice doesn’t come out shrill as I lean into Luuk’s hug, at least as far as the bump will let me. These past few weeks, I wake up bigger every day, which means that my sleep is becoming worse, despite the “boyfriend pillow” my old-new friend Dory got me.
We’ve known each other for a while, thanks to a wrong coffee order at our local café, but first with Johan’s drama, then with all the shitshow that followed, we almost lost contact. But when I texted her a few months ago, suggesting a coffee, she was happy to make a friendship out of our acquaintance.
