New Love, Old Love and Wet Dreams

"I've had enough. Let's go for a glass of wine." The woman I'm sitting next to leans over and whispers in my ear. Sure, we had chatted a bit before the concert and during the break, but otherwise we had never met before.

My colleague, Anders, had said that he couldn't go to the concert tonight. He has a subscription to the concert hall and asked if I wanted to go in his place.

"They're playing Robert Schuman, so I'm sure it's a great concert. I'm sitting next to a nice woman. I don't know her name, but we usually talk a bit," he had said. And indeed the woman is nice. A glass of wine sounds nice.

We get up and slip out through the heavy doors. Luckily we were sitting at the end of the row, no need to disturb anyone else. When we get out, we look at each other.

"Where should we go? I just want to get out of here. Schuman was good, but this modern piece was a bit awkward," says the woman.

"Well, it was more like a setting of Dante's Inferno. There's a wine bar a little way down the street. I hope they can give us a table," I say.

We walk out into the evening. It's September but still warm in the air. We walk in silence next to each other. Not a strained silence, but more a silence filled with anticipation. Anticipation of a glass of wine, anticipation of a good time. Anders was indeed right, a nice woman but he didn't say anything about them going out for a glass of wine. She is around 35, I would say. Nicely dressed in a long skirt with an opening so her legs are visible in a gap. A blue blouse and a nice pearl necklace. No rings. Her hair is copper-brown and curly, slightly frizzy. She is slightly shorter than me, maybe 170 centimeters, nice figure, as far as I can see.

We get a small, rather intimate table. Hard not to let our knees meet under the table. We each order a glass of wine, a wine from Etna in Sicily. When we get the wine, we look at each other and toast.

"Anders, who has the subscription could not come tonight, so I had to take his place. Really nice to meet you. He said I should sit next to a nice woman and that you usually talk a bit," I say.

She looks at me, a bit questioning. She shakes her head. A small smile begins to spread in her eyes.

"Oh, a bit embarrassing. It's the same with me. I had to take Marie's ticket, she couldn't go. She said I'd be sitting next to a nice man. And I thought that was true and suggested a drink. So we're both substitutes, replacements. Strange, but here we are."

"What a meeting! My name is Mikael. Really funny, Anders will laugh when I tell him."

"Yes. So will Marie. My name is Sophie. She will be really surprised and a little jealous when I tell her that we also went out afterwards. She has never dared to suggest that. Neither would I normally, but I wanted to tease her a bit and lure out the man she thought was so nice."

"Then it got crazy. Have I disappointed you? Personally, I think it was fantastic that you asked, I would never have dared."

"Crazy, yes perhaps. But at the same time crazy fun. If it wasn't to make a fun thing out of it, I wouldn't have dared either. But daring is daring, and here we are."

"And very funny, I think. Not every day I get an invitation from a beautiful woman, you know."

"Not every day I do it either. But I'm glad I did it, even if it was wrong. But it's like driving the wrong way, getting lost, you get to see something you wouldn't have seen otherwise."

"Absolutely, I'm glad you got lost. Would you like another glass of wine?"

"Are you trying to get me drunk? What would you do in that case?"

"I would lead you home, make sure you get home safely. Ask for your phone number and then call the next day to make sure everything is okay."

"In that case, yes, thank you!"

I order two more glasses. We talk about a lot of things. All the time our knees are rubbing against each other under the table. Finally, Sophie spreads her legs a little so we can scissor our knees. There is another round.

"Wow, now my head is spinning. You better get my phone number. Will you walk me home then?"

"Absolutely. Give me your phone and I'll type in my number".

I get her phone, ask her to open it and then enter my number and dial myself.

"Now you have my number and I have yours. I will call you tomorrow. But let's go now. Where do you live?"

"I live just a ten-minute walk from here. Take me by the arm and lead me so I don't fall."

We walk slowly through the town, she leads the way. At the gate, I take her hands. I hold them and look at her. We stand facing each other.

"Thank you for a wonderful evening. I haven't had this much fun in a very long time. Can I have a hug?"

"Mmm, me too. Hug? Absolutely."

She crawls into my arms and gives me a really close hug, with her whole body. When we break the hug, I get a quick kiss on the mouth.

"A little kiss, so you remember me. I have several in stock..."

Then she goes into the gate. I walk home in the night. I think about what an amazing woman I've met.

The next day I call her around ten o'clock. She answers a little breathlessly.

"Hello. I can't talk right now. Can I call you in an hour?" I reply that it will be fine.

When she calls, she sounds more composed.

"Sorry, I was running between two meetings, couldn't talk. Lots of people around. How are you doing?

"That's exactly what I was going to ask you. I'm fine. I had great dreams last night. Thanks for last night," I say.

"What did you dream about? About me? No, maybe it's best not to tell me, there might be too much information." She says a little jokingly. And yes, it would be a bit too much if I really told her what I dreamt, and not just dreamt.

"It was fantastic yesterday, I haven't had such a good time in a very long time. Thought I'd ask you out on a real date. What about Friday?"

"Would be great. Yes, absolutely, thank you," she replies.

We agree that I will pick her up at six o'clock on Friday, and I will book a table somewhere. The rest of the day I walk around on clouds, it seems. I book a table for half past six at a nice little intimate restaurant, which also has good food.

On Friday I arrive at her house. When she opens the door, I get another one of those warm, almost intimate, hugs. She looks at me with a big smile. We get our table at the restaurant. We sit down, look at the menu. After just a short look at the menu, we start talking, as if we have known each other for a long time.

"I had a dream about you last night. A nice dream," says Sophie.

"Tell me, I had a dream about you too. I woke up all, well, how should I say, excited? Then I had trouble getting back to sleep."

"Excited? Good word, it was like that for me too. Was completely warm throughout my body. A nice feeling. How do you usually sleep?"

"I just don't have anything on me, the duvet, of course." We don't have time to say more before the waiter comes and asks what we want to order.

"Oh, yes, that's right. Mmm, let's start with a glass of bubbly while we decide," I suggest. Sophie nods that it will be fine.

"Oh, I was thinking more about whether you usually sleep deeply. But, oh well, I don't wear much when I sleep. It's best that way. And comfortable."

"Comfortable, absolutely, especially with the dream I had."

"A bit much information," she laughs. "But, yes, exactly."

The glasses of bubbly come in and we toast. Both with big smiles. Then we look at the menus. We both choose cod loin. I find a white wine, which seems to go well with it.

"Is it okay with wine. In that case, I think this Chablis is good."

"Love Chablis. Will be absolutely perfect."

We keep talking, leaving the intimate and talking about movies we have seen, then what we are reading. We have the same taste in movies. The books are slightly different. We are surprisingly similar. Sophie likes to read about different relationships while I'm more into thrillers. Then we get into relationships.

"I had a boyfriend when I was in my upper teens. We were very much in love with each other. We didn't do anything without each other. Stayed together all the time. When I was twenty, he suddenly disappeared. Without leaving any trace behind. Just empty. No telephone, no one at the address where he lived, nada, nothing. I didn't recover for a very long time. It was a great betrayal. It's only in the last few years that I've recovered. Then I've had a few short relationships, but nothing that has left any deep marks."

"How hard. I can understand that it was a shock, a grieving process you went through. You have no idea what happened?"

"No, still nothing. After that, I've tried to break with everything old, moving several times. Even changed my last name, to my mother's old family name. Something she wanted me to do ever since my parents divorced. But enough about me. Tell me about you."

I tell her that I have been divorced for three years, but that we still have a good relationship, especially with regard to the children. Since the divorce, I have only had occasional relationships, rarely lasting more than a month.

"Hey, I have an idea. Why don't we try something with Anders and, what's your friend's name? Maybe we'll book ourselves into the next concert, then I'll drag Anders and you your girlfriend to the wine bar. So, all of a sudden, they get to meet. I haven't told Anders about our meeting," I suggest.

'Great idea, I haven't told Marie we met either. It will be fun to see how she reacts when she sees your friend Anders." Sophie picks up her phone, logs on to the Concert Hall and books two tickets. "Now it's just a matter that they actually go to the next concert. I will tell Marie that it was so nice that I booked the next concert and that I want to invite her for a glass of wine afterwards. Does that work for you too?"

"Great. And then I get to meet you too. Is it this Wednesday?"

"Exactly, at seven. We sit next to each other, but we can go there individually or with our friend."

It feels absolutely fantastic, we can talk and joke while we eat. We also have the next meeting planned. It feels amazing.

"What are you doing tomorrow? Would you like to do something," I ask at the end of the meal.

"That would be great, but I'm going to my mom's house tomorrow and won't be back until Sunday evening. But I'll see you on Wednesday."

We pay and walk out. We hold hands as we walk back. At the gate I get another warm hug and a more intimate, deep kiss. Our mouths suck on each other, our tongues play. If it wasn't late evening, I'm sure a chorus of small birds would have joined in. Life feels so amazing.

"Thank you for a wonderful evening. I will dream even more about you now. I want to know you more, see you more. And can't wait for Wednesday," I say.

"Thanks, you too. Incredible evening, haven't had so much fun in a very long time. Getting warm all over my body. Dreaming? Yes, so do I, in many ways. I really want to keep seeing you, it feels so right."

We kiss again. Then I stand alone in the street outside her gate, which has just closed.

On Monday I talk to Anders. He is pleased that I enjoyed the concert and wants to go again.

"As a thank you, I'd like to offer you a glass of wine afterwards. I hope you can," I say.

"Oh yes. Nice, thank you very much."

We go to the concert together. He finds his seat and I find mine. Sophie is already there. She looks even more beautiful today. I'm in love, I must admit.

"Hi, you look amazing. I'm so happy when I see you, my body is tingling," I say.

"Mmm, likewise. You know, I had a dream about you last night. It was probably the most beautiful dream I've ever had. You kissed me, like no other, and... well, we'll talk about that later. But you were absolutely fantastic."

"Wow, that doesn't just tingle," I say. Sophie looks at me, then looks down at my pants.

"Oh, I think you really like seeing me," she says, smiling big. Well, this is off to a great start.

The conductor comes in, everyone applauds, and then the concert begins. Brahms' fourth symphony. We hold hands during the concert. Sometimes the hands are in her lap, her womb, and I can feel the warmth radiating up. Sometimes they are in my lap. Then she takes the opportunity to pass her hand over my bump, which only gets bigger.

When the concert is over, we go out. Sophie finds Marie and I watch them leave. Anders was in the toilet. We also walk towards the wine bar. During the walk we talk about the concert. When we enter the wine bar, Sophie and Marie are already there. They see us and Sophie jumps up. Her whole face is an expression of horror and then joy and, well, I don't know. She is overwhelmed with emotion and surprise.

"Malcolm," she exclaims. "Is it really you. What is this? Where the hell did you go and what are you doing here?"

"Oh, is it really you Sophie? Strange. I've been trying to find you, but... God, I'm so happy. My darling!"

"Oh, my dear Malcolm, it is you. Whom I have longed, mourned and longed again. Where did you go? What happened? And what are you doing here?"

Throughout this outburst, I and Marie have just stood and stared. Marie recognizes her chair neighbor, but doesn't understand anything. Anders, I understand, must be the love of her youth, the one who just disappeared and whom she had difficulty getting over. Still has feelings for? I feel totally confused. Here I was, just flirting, almost making out with the woman of my dreams, and everything falls apart in less than a second.

"My mother was threatened and I was threatened too. We had to run away, not allowed to talk to anyone. We changed our names and went to some distant relatives in England. Lived in a little place called Littlehampton. I went to university in Reading. My mother passed away five years ago and I was able to come back, now with a new identity," says Anders aka Malcolm.

"Oh, but you could have said something, announced yourself in some way?"

"No, I couldn't, it was too dangerous. And secondly, it could have been dangerous for you. I'm so sorry for everything, I've missed you so much. I think I've loved you all the time. So happy now to have seen you again. Ohh, darling," he says and gives her a hug.

Sophie, hugs him too, they look so in love. She breaks the embrace, looks at him. Smiles at him, shakes her head a little.

"Mmm, must powder my nose," she says and disappears towards the restrooms.

"But, but. How is this happening? You two have met, when I couldn't go to the last concert. And now we're here. I don't really understand. What has happened?" Anders stammers and looks confused.

"Well, I've known Sophie for many years, I've only heard about you. She was very upset for a long time, inconsolable, didn't want to see anyone, more or less shut herself away. And then it's you I sat next to, talked to, during the concerts. Your friend, what's his name?" Marie says.

"Mikael", I add.

"Yes, I've never seen Mikael before. I wasn't at the last concert either, Sophie got my ticket."

"So you and Sophie met last week, sat next to each other. And now you wanted to joke with us," says Anders.

"Right, we went for a glass of wine here afterwards, talked and, well, flirted. One thing led to another and we thought it would be fun to bring you together. But now it seems that you and Sophie are finding your way back."

"Yes, and I'm happy about that. Thank you very much, even if you didn't know it. But at the same time, I've probably ruined something for you. I'm sorry about that. But I can't help it. I hope you apologize," says Anders. Marie just stands and watches, not knowing what to think. She smiles a little wryly at me, realizing that I've been sidelined. We look at each other. We sit down and drink some of the wine that has come in in the meantime.

After a while, Sophie comes back. She looks composed, almost clenched. She looks straight at me. Holds out a hand. She has something in it. Looks like something black. Gives me what she has. I look at what it is. A pair of panties? I take them, not knowing what I'm doing, bring them up to my face and draw in the scent. The scent of woman, of Sophie.

"I've had enough," she says, still looking at me. Exactly the same words she said at the concert last week. "Let's go, I want you." And without another word, she turns on her heel and heads for the exit. I look at her back and rush after her, out into the night.