Aunt Inga

Saturday the concession stand had another busy day. A late afternoon thunderstorm thinned out the crowd and Todd, Kent (the owner), and Vivian (Kent's wife), cleaned up earlier than usual, closing precisely at 5:00. Kent and Vivian came to help out Todd who was simply overwhelmed by the number of customers that came to the beach for the beautiful summer weather. Tomorrows forecast called for a repeat of today so Kent & Vivian stayed to restock and let Todd head for home as he was wiped out from the busy day.

Before he left, Kent spoke to Todd. "See if you can find that tall blonde girl to help us out on weekends. I think today is an indication of what we're going to see for the remainder of the summer and it's overwhelming. She knows her way around and is especially good with the younger folks."

"You mean Carole?" She's only fifteen, Kent. You'd have to pay her off the books. Are you giving me authority to hire her. Would you do this on a cash basis?"

"Yes, I'd have to, I guess. Do you think one-hundred a weekend would interest her?"

"I don't know, Kent, but I'll surely ask her. She'll just be getting paid for what she does anyway when she's here. I don't think she would have a problem with that."

Todd headed down the boardwalk to the parking area. Arriving at his car Todd found a note under his windshield wiper. He didn't recognize the writing and opened it.

Hi Todd,

I'm Carole's Aunt, Inga Svensen. I live about a mile down the beach from you at 5524 Surfside Drive. Carole is staying with me until Thursday while her dad is out of town. She and I would like you to join us for dinner tonight if you don't already have plans. Just come over after work and we'll be there. Shorts, shirt and sandals are fine - very casual - and bring a swimsuit if you feel like a dip in the pool. Carole has told me about you and it sounds like we have a lot to talk about.

Looking forward to meeting you,

Inga Svensen

Todd realized he found himself thinking about Carole a lot today and immediately decided to accept the informal invitation. Aunt Inga's house was located in a nice subdivision down the beach from his modest apartment. Just to make sure he could find it easily he turned away from his usual route home and drove down Surfside. Sure enough, the contemporary beachfront home was nicely kept and landscaped, definitely one of the higher end places on the beach.

Todd didn't waste any time as he showered, shaved and put on clean clothes. It was hot and he turned on the air conditioning to get some of the moist air out of the little apartment. He grabbed his swimsuit and a towel as he headed back out to the car. On a hunch, he picked up a bottle of Reisling as he headed past the wine shop. "Never hurts to have a house gift when you're an invited guest," he thought. Five minutes later Todd pulled his Miata into the driveway and parked next to the Lexus parked there. Going up the only steps up to the house, Todd rang the doorbell.

A tall, strikingly statuesque, white haired blonde answered the door. "Hi Todd, I'm Inga Svensen.

"Hi, Miss Svensen, I'm Todd Pittman. Pleased to meet you. Sorry to stare but you and Carole look so much alike that you could be sisters. I'm amazed at the resemblance."

Inga laughed, "Yes, we hear that a lot. Her mother and I are twins and all the women in our family look very much the same. It's our Danish heritage, I'm sure. Come on in. Carole's out by the pool."

"Okay, now I see it. I wondered how Carole got her light hair and blue eyes. You women put most of the bottle blondes to shame with your gorgeous hair and eyes."

Inga was certain Todd was also thinking about other aspects of physiology but was too polite to say anything. She turned and led Todd through the house and out to the deck. As they passed through the sitting room Todd said, "Here, Miss Svensen, I brought some wine for dinner," handing her the bottle.

"Why, thanks Todd. That's nice of you." putting the wine on the counter along side of some other bottles.

"Look who's here, Carole," said Inga, smiling as she and Todd walked out onto the deck..

"Todd," Carole exclaimed, I'm so happy you came," she said excitedly as she got off the lounge chair and came up to Todd and hugged him, giving him a kiss on the cheek as she did. "You've already met Aunt Inga, I guess. Dad likes me to stay with her when he has to travel."

"And we always have lot's to talk about when we get together. Carole's told me about these things you two have experienced but we can talk about all that later. Why don't we have a glass of wine and be beachwatchers for awhile while things are cooking? Let me get some snacks together."

Todd and Carole joined hands and sat down beside one another by the pool. Todd leaned over and gave Carole a quick kiss before he settled into his chair. Carole smiled at him and squeezed his hand.

"This is very nice," said Todd. "Wonderful view from here."

"Wait until you see the sunset. It's gorgeous. With those big clouds west of us it should be even more spectacular."

Inga arrived with a tray of chips, dip, grapes, and cheese. "Todd, will you have some wine? We're having seafood casserole for dinner and your Reisling would be nice with that or there are other choices if you'd rather have something else.

"If you have Cabernet, I'd really like that before dinner and save the Reisling for the meal."

"That's fine, I can do that. How about you, young lady?"

"Aunt Inga, I know nothing at all about wine. Pick something you think I'd like. Whatever Todd's having will be fine."

"Okay, be right back." Inga walked back inside the house.

"Those big clouds probably mean some more rain later tonight, Carole. They will surely give us a colorful sunset, though. Look at the range of colors in them."

Inga returned with two glasses of red wine, handing one to Carole and the other to Todd and sat down in a deck chair facing them. "Here's to new friends," she said, raising her glass. All three clinked their glasses together and smiled at each other as they took a sip.

"Wow, that's very good Cabernet, Miss Svensen." said Todd.

"Thank you Todd, but you need to drop the Miss Svensen thing. Call me Inga, please. Yes, that wine is one of my favorites. How about you, Carole, What do you think?"

"I don't really know. I haven't tasted enough wine to be able to tell good from bad. It's all kind of sour to me but it isn't bad, I guess."

"It's better when you eat something with it. Here, try it with a cracker and some dip and see what you think."

"Okay, that's pretty good. Thanks."

Inga spoke up. "Well, kids, it seems we have some things to talk about. Todd, I'm sure you're confused by the things that have happened with you two. I may have some answers for you and again, I may not, but I promise to try my best. Carole, you will have an easier time because you'll understand some of our family history and how it ties in to all these mysterious coincidences."

Todd exclaimed, "You're absolutely right about my not understanding, Miss Svensen - I mean, Inga. I'm studying to be an engineer and a big part of my program revolves around cause and effect, the reasons things happen as they do, quantitative proofs, and so on. To be honest, none of these things make any sense to me when you look at them like that. Yet, there's no denying that these weird connections are real, actual occurrences that somehow connect Carole and me. How and why this is happening I simply can't fathom."

Carole was silent, a pensive look on her face. Then she spoke. "Aunt Inga, you mentioned our family history and that there's some connection with what's going on with Todd and me. Does this have anything to do with my mom? "

"Yes, Carole, everything to do with her, and with me, too. Whatever this is it follows the women in our family, even our relatives in Denmark. You remember I spent two years there when you were just a little girl because I had things happen with me that are much the same as what you and Todd are experiencing. That isn't to say that Todd is just a bystander in all this, quite the contrary. We can't deny that he has an active role in this connection. Neither Astrid - Astrid is my sister, Todd, Carole's mom -- nor your dad could ever grasp the reality of these events and worried about them to the point that she became obsessive. But that's another story for another time. Strangely, your dad was never part of her interactions, and being a doctor with the scientific regimens of that profession being foremost in his thinking, he simply couldn't grasp that these occurrences could possibly occur without some tangible scientific explanations."

"I can understand that," said Todd. "That's close to my perspective, too."

"Hey kids, our dinner's done. Let's continue this conversation over dinner."

"Here, I'll help you," said Carole, and stood to help her aunt put food on the table.

Todd remained seated and pondered what Inga had said.

Over dinner the Inga talked at length about Svensen family history, how their ancestry could be traced back to the Vikings, their conquests of the British Isles and even the discovery of North America.

During her visit to Scandinavia years earlier, Inga had talked with elders of her family, who produced amazingly good journals with pictures of their ancestral kin going back several hundred years. Even then their resemblance to the present Svensen females was evident: tall, long legs, fair skin, almost white hair, deep blue eyes, statuesque, and poised, the classical Nordic princesses. Many were depicted holding books and religious artifacts.

Inga continued to elaborate on Svensen lineage, explaining in a general sense her perspective of the mother country and her family's part in its history. Svensens were not tribal leaders or battlefield heroes who attained historical significance but the women were considered to be spiritually connected and even predictors of future events. The males were community builders, lawmakers and perpetrators of societies and religious icons over all of Scandinavia and in conquered lands. Evidently the womens' insights and foresight, while believed to be truths by many followers, were considered by some to be blasphemous and ran counter to their traditional religious dogma. Some of their detractors were political aspirants and suspicious of any counterveiling influences. Sometimes these women with seemingly 'special' powers were accused of witchery and witchcraft and were burned at the stake or tortured to death. Over generations, for self-preservation, the Svensens retreated into relative obscurity in the public eye with their predictory powers intentionally kept out of the public venue in order to survive as a clan.

Centuries later, the first Svensens migrated to America, entering both at Jamestown, Virginia, and Savannah, Georgia. Inga had seen passenger manifests and immigration logs from both places with names that perfectly matched the records she had found during her time in Denmark. She was certain that these people were the same lineage of her ancient Danish ancestors. From their respective ports of entry the Svensens headed north to Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and some left the United States for Canada.

The Svensens were Inga's people, and Carole's people, too. With them came the sorts of events and strange connections that Carole and Todd had experienced, happenings that led people to one another, warned them of dangers, enabled them to meet and subsequently mate, and perpetuate the family predisposition to things others called supernatural. These instinctual traits were essential tools in the survival kits of mankind following the Cro Magnon population expansion over northern Europe and into the Scandinavian Penninsula. In Aunt Inga's mind, these instincts formed a genetic predisposition in Svensen women that connected them to a past that dated back thousands of years.

Todd listened intently to Aunt Inga's historical perspective while Carole seemed almost mesmerized.

"Okay, you kids. We could spend hours, days, and even longer talking about all this. What is clear to me is that you two have been brought together and given clear messages that yours isn't simply an accidental connection. Quit trying to analyze it with linear thinking and logic. Rationale and reason simply don't apply here. Just go with it. Accept the clear signs that you two are somehow matched together, put your age difference concerns aside, and enjoy one another while you have this wonderful opportunity. No one else needs to know any of this and, frankly, no one else is interested. Carole, you know you are welcome here for as long as you want. If you wish, I'll explain to your dad that you'd like to spend the rest of the summer here at the beach with me and he will jump at the opportunity for the free time to play golf and hang out with his buddies at the base."

"But Aunt Inga, Dad depends on me to help around the house, wash clothes and stuff, make the beds, cook and clean. He'll have a hard time without me taking care of all that."

"Carole, he can hire a housekeeper one day a week to do all that and since you guys eat out almost every meal anyway, feeding himself won't be a big deal. Believe me, this independence won't be a problem for him. While he loves you dearly there comes a time when getting a breather from the responsibilities of single parenthood is a necessity. He's at that point, too. We had dinner the other night and he told me that he could really stand a break and was looking forward to this conference in Memphis even if it is just for a few days. We can give him that opportunity and even the rest of the summer and he'll appreciate it as long as you check in every week or so, do something fun together once and awhile, and let him know you love him."

Todd watched to the two women talking with great interest. He couldn't help but notice how much they looked alike, Carole at fifteen and her aunt at forty. "This is a family of naturally beautiful women," he thought. In profile, contrasted against the clouds in the background, they seemed to have an almost mystical look about them. Even their gestures and postures seemed the same. While Aunt Inga's accent still had a slight Scandanavian twinge, Carole's was neutral. They were both tall and slender and used their hands when expressing themselves. It was easy to see they were related.

Inga continued. "You're at home here, Carole. You have your own room downstairs, you are mature enough to take responsibility for some of the household chores, keep your own schedule, focus on your connection to this nice young man." She looked at Todd and smiled. "Through all the confusion, and despite some reservations about your age difference, the two of you seem to have that sweet attraction to one another that is about the best feeling that life has to offer. I recommend that you enjoy one another in every way you're comfortable with. Todd is undoubtedly more experienced with matters of the heart, and maybe has even known some of the heartbreaks and life lessons that accompany those, while you, Carole, are just finding out what life and love are all about. I sincerely hope you don't waste this beautiful opportunity by getting bogged down with things that neither of you can possibly understand at this point in your lives. You've both gotten signals that are, by themselves, rare, but you both need to grant yourselves permission to take the next steps. For what it's worth, you have my permission and my blessing. But one more piece of advice. Be careful you don't get pregnant. I'm sorry to feel it necessary to mention that but it is so easily overlooked when there's so much passion and eagerness in the air."

"You don't have to worry about that, Aunt Inga. There's no way I can get pregnant 'cause I'm taking birth control pills."

Inga looked at her niece curiously. "You are," she replied? "Since when?"

"Since the day after I first met Todd. It's like I was almost certain where this might be heading so it was a matter of asking Dad for a prescription. Some time ago I told him I was having irregular periods and he said it might be best to get on the pill to straighten out my cycle. When I told him it was time he wrote me a prescription that same day."

Todd interjected, "Carole, you mean you knew after we first met that we might have sex?"

"Yep, June 7. Here's the package with the date." She rustled around in her purse and pulled out the circular package and handed it over to Todd. "See the date on the label."

Once again Todd looked astounded. "Damn, I find this hard to believe but here it is right in front of my face."

Inga, too, looked amazed. "So, Carole, you've not been on the pill before this last month?"

"No ma'am, I had no reason to be. I'm still a virgin, pure as the driven snow." She laughed and smiled at Todd, who rolled his eyes.

"Well, kids, I don't know what to say except to be respectful of one another, go very slowly, say what you feel, and enjoy this wonderful experience. It's a time in your life that you will remember forever, a truly special time."

Todd was speechless. Carole looked at him longingly and squeezed his arm, then stood up and gave him a kiss. Then she stepped over to her aunt who stood up and hugged her closely. Todd stood and hugged them both, then quickly kissed Carole.

Inga spoke. "You two are welcome to stay here with me tonight or go back to Todd's. Either way you can come and go here as you please. I'm as close or as distant as you wish me to be. If you do go to Todd's please leave a note, okay?"

"Okay." Carole kissed her aunt who patted Todd's shoulder, turned away and headed inside the house. Todd and Carole kissed passionately and held one another for a minute.

"I'd be more comfortable at your place, Todd. Let me get my stuff together. It won't take but a minute."

"Okay, I'll finish this wine. Are you sure this is what you want, Carole?"

"Oh, Todd, I've never been so certain of anything in my life," said Carole, looking up at Todd and beaming from ear to ear as the tears rolled down her cheeks. Todd leaned down and kissed her tears away. Carole went inside and returned quickly with a small cloth bag.

Together, Todd and Carole walked through the house to the front door, stopping only to scribble a quick note telling Aunt Inga that they were spending the night at Todds. They locked the front door behind them as they headed for the red Miata with their arms around each others waists..