10. Chapter Ten

Matty

Mamma sat straight and frowned deeply at us, her dark blue eyes stormy. After a moment she nodded, sighed, and stood, brushing her palms on her apron. "I believe I need to finish making lunch. Matthias, will you help?"

"I'm happy to help too, Nina," Jared said, jumping to his feet.

Mamma shook her head firmly. "No thank you, Jared. I'd like to speak to Matthias in private." She cast a scathing look to Steve and Brock and marched into the kitchen, with me close behind.

"Matthias," she hissed, spinning to face me the moment I was in the kitchen with her.

"Mamma." I tipped my head toward the door where Brock stood filming us, before patting my hip where the mic pack was, and she nodded, seeming to catch on to my hints that we were still on TV. "I know the move comes as a surprise and I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm not upset that you're moving to America."

I raised my eyebrows. "No?"

"Matthias Gunnar, I promise, I'm not mad you're leaving. Sad, yes. Not angry."

"Then… what's wrong?"

She grabbed a dish towel and swatted at me. "It's a lot to take in, that's all. You're getting married and you didn't even bother to tell your Mamma you were seeing someone in the first place? I haven't met his family. And add to all that you're heading to America! How long until you're able to return for a visit?"

"At least until after the wedding. So, no sooner than three months."

Her tone softened. "Well, I hope I'll be invited to the wedding, at least."

"Of course," I murmured, holding my arms out to her. She stepped into my embrace and hugged me tightly, transporting me back to when I was a child and she held me while I cried. From over my shoulder, the sound of her sniffling was evident.

"Well, at least I know Jared's family will welcome you with open arms, just the same as they did when you were in school." She hesitated a moment and pulled back to look me in the eyes. "Why didn't you just tell me you were gay? You didn't have to marry a man to come out to me." She had a small smile on her face and I knew all was well. "And what about Linnea, your ex-girlfriend? Was that all a ruse?"

"I'm bisexual, Mamma, not gay. Linnea, well, that's a whole different story, but it doesn't have anything to do with Jared or America."

"Well, as long as you're happy, that's all that matters to me."

She hugged me again and after a few moments, released me and stepped back. "Kasper will be here soon with Ingrid."

I groaned. "I'm not especially looking forward to that conversation." My older brother and I couldn't have been more different. He was the settle-down type, a family man who had married right out of university to the girl he'd been dating since secondary school. He never approved of me studying in America or taking a job as a travel writer, and he made it clear that despite having never met Jared, Kasper definitely didn't care for him.

She placed a hand on my shoulder. "I know. Give him a little patience, will you? Just because you're different doesn't mean he doesn't love you."

I suppressed a snort and nodded. "Yes, Mamma."

"Now, send that fiancé of yours in here to help prepare the sandwich trays."

As I turned back to the living room, I spotted Brock settling down in front of Jared for a quick interview, and I watched, leaning against the doorframe.

"Jared, are you nervous that Ms. Solberg doesn't approve of you?"

He shook his head. "I trust that no matter what she needs to say to Matty or how much time she needs to process our surprise engagement, she'll come around. She showers him with love, and I know in time, she'll feel the same about me."

My heart swelled a little at the thought. I believed Jared was right. In her own time, Mamma would come around and shower him with love the same way she did with me and Kasper. She had certainly embraced Ingrid, and I had no doubt Jared would be welcomed the same way.

"And how about Kasper and Ingrid?"

He made a sour face, scrunching his nose. "Kasper's never liked me, so I'm not sure how well he'll take it. But that's okay. It doesn't matter. At the end of the day, as long as Matty and I love each other, that's all that's important."

Steve nodded. "That's good for now." Before Brock could lower the camera, though, Steve spotted me, still leaning against the doorframe, smiling softly at the scene.

"Matthias, how are you feeling?"

I pushed myself to standing and ran my fingers through my hair. "I'm feeling good. I know that Kasper might have a hard time adjusting, but Mamma is on board, and she's the most important person in my life besides Jared, so I'm happy." I hesitated a moment before looking at Jared. "Mamma was hoping you'd help her in the kitchen. She's making sandwich trays."

He scrambled to his feet, grinning. "I'd be more than happy to help." No sooner had he disappeared into the kitchen than there was a knock at the door. A second later, my brother's voice echoed down the hallway.

"Matthias? Mamma?"

I stuck my head into the kitchen, spotting Mamma instructing Jared on how she wanted him to slice the brunost. I was so overwhelmed by happiness that I forgot what I was doing for a moment, until Kasper called out a second time. "I'll get that." As I went, Steve and Brock followed close behind.

By the time I'd made it into the hallway to greet Kasper and Ingrid, they were pulling their coats off and hanging them on the rack.

"Matthias," Kasper said by way of greeting, nodding formally at me. "Where's Mamma?"

"Kitchen." I stepped forward and shook his hand, and then took Ingrid's hand in both of mine. "Ingrid, you're looking well." She was, too. Her skin was bright and clear, her smile radiant, and her hair was done up in a long braid wrapped around her head like a crown. Her dress flowed from her body beautifully. "Great dress."

"Oh, thank you." When I released her, she immediately shoved both hands into the pockets of her dress. The look on her face was somewhat suspect, but I couldn't pin down exactly why.

"I think I'll go say hello," Kasper said.

I grabbed his arm to stop him. "She's not alone in there."

Kasper looked thoughtful for a moment, eyes up as if he were thinking. "Linnea?"

I nearly laughed. "No. Do you remember my American friend Jared, the one I lived with for a while in high school?" When Kasper's eyebrows furrowed, I continued. "He's here visiting. We… had news to share."

"News?"

"I wanted to tell Mamma something. It couldn't wait until you arrived. I'm sorry."

"Well, go on then. What's the news?" Kasper scratched at an eyebrow with his thumbnail before pressing his thumb into his temple briefly.

"I'm getting married. We are. Jared and I. To each other, I mean." I didn't know why I was stumbling over my words, but sometimes just the presence of Kasper flustered me, partially because he was older, and partially because he was just so judgmental. "And I'm moving to America to start a new job."

A muscle twitched in Kasper's jaw and he closed his eyes briefly. "Please tell me you are joking."

I shook my head. "Not at all."

"Is that what this is all about?" He tilted his head toward the camera.

"Yes, something like that." I'd warned him that there was a television crew coming, but just like Mamma, I hadn't told him much beyond that.

Kasper began to scold me in hushed Norwegian, asking how I could do that to Mamma, surprise her with news that I was leaving. He told me how much she needed me to be close by and asked if I realized how hard things had been for her. Besides, what was wrong with marrying Linnea? he asked. Wasn't she perfectly passable for a wife?

"I don't want someone passable," I bit out. "I want someone I'm in love with."

"And you're in love with someone you've known since high school?"

I snorted. "That's interesting, coming from you."

He turned to Ingrid, his face red. "If you want to leave, we can do that. We don't have to stay."

"Kasper." She put her hand on his arm gently. "Let's not let this ruin our visit, okay? We came for a reason. Keep that in mind."

He took a few deep breaths and nodded. "If that's what you want."

"Of course it is." She stroked his arm. "Now let's go sit down. I need to rest."

I frowned but followed them into the living room. As we went to sit, Steve caught my eye and gave me a thumbs-up, grin a mile wide. He was loving the family drama. I was sure of that.

Not long after, Mamma and Jared summoned us to the dining table, where platters of smoked fish and other meats, brunost, buttered bread, and other sandwich ingredients were sitting out, including tubes of caviar and a bottle of sun-dried tomato paste. My stomach growled as we dug in. Mamma did an excellent job of keeping the conversation flowing peacefully, and just as I was starting to feel at home and settled in, less shaken from the argument earlier, Kasper cleared his throat.

"Ingrid and I have some news to share as well."

"You're getting married again?" I asked dryly.

"Actually, no." He looked at Ingrid, who gave him a small, shy smile and nodded. Kasper continued. "We're expecting."

Mamma nearly dropped the knife she was using to spread caviar. "You aren't!"

"It's true," Ingrid murmured.

"What wonderful news. Today has been a day of surprises from both my boys, and from their partners."