Chapter 2: Serendipity

The next day, true to his word, Lief had finished at the office, and come to take Karen home.

He knew he could take his time, but Lief really didn't want to dawdle. Not to mention he had asked the neighbors to watch Kristin before he went to work. Surely, they weren't being too inconvenienced?

It was better than constantly hiring a babysitter, and not as expensive. But, hopefully, Lief would relieve them of that duty shortly, and they could head home.

But first things first. Pick up Karen.

Lief was given the familiar greeting from Edvin Oss. It was friendly, if not a tad blunt.

But then, Edvin wasn't one to be overly wordy. He was more suited to give a handshake and a short "Hey."

After being let in, Lief had to ask if the boys' parents were home. As if expecting the answer, Edvin responded with "Mom is."

For whatever reason, Lief never actually met Mr. and Mrs. Oss. But he attributed that to not knowing the boys all that long. But this time, he felt it was about time to meet the parents.

When trying to envisioning a 'mother of twins', for some twisted reason, Lief imagined a woman hardened by time.

After all, raising twin boys, no matter how well-behaved, had to have been a challenge. Surely a woman's looks had to have weathered.

But when it came time to meet Mrs. Oss, Lief certainly wasn't expecting whohe saw.

That is to say, he wasn't expecting to meet a woman who could be called, as some might say in English, a knockout.

After Lief got over his initial "oh gosh, hot mom" thoughts, he actually managed to break the ice with Arvid and Edvin's mother.

Mostly, he learned her first name was Josefin, and she worked in Law Enforcement. But, unfortunately, that was all he managed to remember of what she told him.

Lief then said his amicable farewell to Josefin, to take Karen home. He wanted to know more about her life, but he also didn't want to keep Kristin waiting.

Still, Lief couldn't help but wonder, where had Mr. Oss gotten off to?

Come to think of it, Josefin hadn't mentioned her husband at all. And Arvid and Edvin never talked about him.

For whatever reason, it just bothered him.

Maybe he could invite them over the next day. After all, Karen and Arvid were dating. Chances were, Karen and possibly even the Oss boys wouldn't like that, but hopefully they'd understand what he was doing.

At least, it wasn't as if Lief was directly trying to pry into his daughter's love life. It was merely making a new friend or two. Nothing too fancy, either, just inviting them over to his house.

And come Leisure Day, the next time Lief got of work, that's exactly what he did.

(End of Chapter 2.)