51 Chapter five, 2016, falling in love: 7 (1/2)
They rode their bikes. Together for the first time. Not too far from the school but far enough to feel like an unplanned date. For once Ulf had taken his bike all the way to school. A ten minutes ride brought them to a river of sorts with the concrete embankments and promenade road she had come to associate with Japan.
She had just finished telling him about her encounter earlier when he pulled the brakes and jumped off his bike while it skidded along the tarmac. He stood on one pedal grinning wildly at her with that almost black hair flying around forehead and ears.
'You just had to play the teenager like that. But it's kind of sexy. And we're not going there.' Flustered she decided to end her monologue and got off her bike herself. ”And that's it. She's not a day under twenty,” she finished her narrative.
”How can you be so certain?” Ulf pulled his bike to the side of the narrow road.
Christina rolled her eyes. ”Look Ulf, I made a career after I quit modelling. I know what a woman looks like. Just trust me on this!”
She looked upstream to where a bridge cut the river view. There was one downstream as well. Then she turned her attention to Ulf.
He nodded when he saw her looking at him. His face had darkened considerably while she explained what had happened. ”I'll use it to put some pressure on Nakagawa then. He knows about us. I guess you also want to know about them.”
'Us. He means us two, but he doesn't mean the two of us.' ”I wonder if we've ever met, I mean in our previous life.” She suddenly wanted to change the subject.
They looked at other cyclists and the occasional pair walking the road. It was a simple enough question, but Ulf looked like he wanted some time to think it over. He always seemed to want to think things over.
”Really doesn't matter now,” Ulf answered. ”I don't think so. We moved in different worlds.” His hand suddenly shot out. ”Walk down there?”
Christina looked where he pointed and followed him down some stairs that led to the water. He was right. She was happy here and now but she was also more than a little irritated. She had wanted his arrogance but that didn't mean she liked it. ”Your world?” she asked. She was still curious about the man behind the boy.
”CEO. Mid-sized IT consulting and education company.”
”Hmm, yeah different world. What was it called?” 'It just had to be something that dull.'
She threw a glance upwards. The sky was overcast, but at least it didn't rain.
Ulf shot her a sullen look. ”Is still called. I'm just absent these days.”
There was that of course. In the other world Ulf's company still existed. ”So what is it called?”
”Twin Arc Production, or TAP.”
Christina froze. ”TAP?”
”What about it. You heard of us?”
She started giggling. ”Yes you could say that. Second time made up for the first though.” All thoughts about an inconsiderate Ulf vanished in an instant. Then she laughed until it hurt.
It was a while later that Ulf demanded an explanation. He deserved it she guessed.
She watched him lying on his back in the grass. 'Yeah, he deserves it.' ”Christina Agerman,” she said. ”Doesn't ring a bell?”
”Of course! Well, nothing that has anything to do with my company.”
”You know you're not the only one to use an abbreviation. I'll give you a hint. Christina Agerman.” She studied his face while he frantically tried to make the connection.
”Sorry, nothing comes to mind.”
Maybe it was too obvious for him to see. ”Chag,” she said when she had decided that he wouldn't make the guess.
”Oh shit!”
”Oh shit indeed.” And she laughed again. ”Aptly named I'm afraid. Our last line was, well less than top quality. I'm still a bit ashamed of it.”
He rose on his elbows and stared at her. ”You were one of our most important customers back in the days. But we didn't usually do full scale B2C solutions. And, oh, oh shit! Yeah, second time was better. I get that now.”
She sat down and looked across the water. It was better like this, to get away from the school even only for a while. Well, he was waiting for an answer.