76

Bjorn too felt let down by the higher than expected price for the tokens, and ended up buying just 500 MG instead of one G which was his original thought. However, he found Espen's reaction ridiculous. Considering all the things they could buy for the tokens, they were still cheap, all be it less so than the gold price had led them to believe. And the lady behind the counter was right. It was not like they were asking for gold. They were asking for tokens, and the tokens were naturally priced according to what people were willing to pay for them.

But Espen kept going on about how they had all been scammed, and did not calm down before all his colleagues started ignoring him, focusing instead on the changes that had taken place during the week since their last visit. "Even the sun is different today," Thomas remarked as they walked in the direction of the bright red sunset. "It was dark by now last weekend."

"And in a month from now there will be no sunset at all," Ante added with a smile. "I love the midnight sun."
"Never experienced it," Bjorn remarked, glad to have something trivial to talk about.
"It's like the long summer evenings down in Oslo, only better!" Ante continued, still smiling.

The men stopped at the street corner next to the knoll with the parked cars, not so much to look out for traffic, of which there was very little, as for reading a sign on the other side, advertising the opening of a bowling alley in an old warehouse behind the casino.

"Anyone for bowling?" Frank asked.
"Yeah, we should do that one day," Ante answered. "But we're already a little late for our dinner at Nora's place."
"Maybe after dinner?" Thomas suggested.
"No! After dinner is casino time." Frank said resolutely. "We'll just have to note bowling down on our to do list."

The men looked at Frank, finding his resolute intervention amusing.

"And what about Thomas? Shouldn't this be up to him? It is his birthday after all?" Ante asked.
"Never mind," Thomas said, not waiting for an answer from Frank. "I'm fine. We can go to the casino as planned... It's not like I'm a die hard bowling enthusiast or anything."

They all continued down the shore line towards Nora's place which was situated directly across the water from Ane's fish processing plant. The little white church above and to the right of the factory was also clearly visible, flood lighted and literally shining as a pearl against the huge rock behind it.

It was a muddy gravel road they were walking down, full of potholes and with a soft shoulder that at places had slid out and disappeared into the water. However, it was not like the road was completely unfit for driving. In places, it was even wide enough for two cars to pass. And being a road only meant for access to a handful of houses, it was no doubt good enough.

Nora's place turned out to be the third house down the road, and was marked with a square box at the edge of the road, functioning both as a sign and as a lamp. It read "Nora's Place" in large friendly letters painted on the translucent surface of the illuminated box.

The restaurant was, as it turned out, simply the living room of a private house, converted into an open dining area with several tables. The house was, as the church across the water, flanked by a rock, all be it a much smaller one than the one by the church. Still, the boulder was as large as the house itself, and shielded it perfectly from any winds coming from the north.

But none of this came as any big surprise to Bjorn. He was getting used to things being ad hoc and improvised in Lundby, and there was nothing uncomfortable about walking into the private sphere of Nora's house. The front door was set with a large glass pane, with an "open" sign clearly visible. And a little desk with a book containing the appointments for the evening was visible through the window in the door.

Stepping into the hallway a bell signalled their entrance, and almost immediately a young Asian woman appeared, ready to help the men find their table. There was something familiar about her, but Bjorn did not immediately recognize her. Only after hearing her speak a few more words as she lead the men to their table by the window, did he suddenly, in a flash, make the connection. The woman was the same one who had welcomed Geir and him over at Ane's factory a few days earlier, and full of curiosity he immediately asked if she happened to be Nora.

"No, no..." she answered with a smile as the men sat down at their table. "I'm Aung. I help Nora out in the evenings."
"So you are still working for Ane?" Bjorn asked, still curious.
"Oh yeah. That's my day job," she answered. Then, taking another look at Bjorn, she blurted out "ah... I see, you are the one we had over the other day."
"Yeah," Bjorn answered with a smile.
She giggled. "Please excuse me... You really all look the same to me."

And with this the men burst out laughing, and the mood was set for a relaxing dinner.