The Simple Reality

Down to the Last Hour

It was on the fifth toss and sixth turn that the blonde woman leapt out of the bed. The empty space beside her annoyed her although she had accepted that this one night would be fine to pass without the one she loves beside her. She couldn't sleep and the thoughts about her new life beginning in another eight hours lingered. She overthought about everything that awaited her the next day. She worried about the ceremony, about the small details at the wedding, wondering if the seating arrangement was the correct one, and she wondered about the food, if the choices were the still the best choices to be made, or should they have gone with something else?

Agnetha frowned from her sleepy state and walked down the hall of the upper floor then carefully down the steps and entered the living room that was was found to be empty. There was a kitchen light which was on and nothing more. She walked on the other side of the house where she expected Björn to be, but he wasn't even there. It was when she came back towards the living room that she caught a small light from just outside the house and had found his brown head leaned back against the arm of the sofa outside.

She softened when she approached the sliding door and had seen that it was just him there, a cup of water that had less than an ounce in it left on the table, and his phone in his hand. His glasses were still on and she smiled a relaxed smile when she had seen he hadn't even noticed her there yet.

Agnetha had no other thought but to walk around that small table and curl into his side. She had removed the phone from his hand when she sat and had taken his arm to allow herself to rest beneath it, and she faced him. That movement had him startled but he quickly realized it was Agnetha in his arms. He was immediately struck and glad that she had joined him and he couldn't recall himself even falling asleep.

"Did you miss me already?" he whispered coarsely, holding her now in both arms as she laid across him like his baby.

"Mm. You didn't?"

"How can I not?" He bowed his head to kiss the tip of her forehead.

"Why are you out here?" she asked.

"I couldn't sleep. Why are you awake?"

"I can't sleep either. I keep thinking."

"Why? Do you have something planned tomorrow?" She grinned silently and buried her face into his chest a bit more. He smelled clean and he was warm in the coolness of Sweden air.

"I'm just... I don't know. I'm anxious. And nervous."

"Baby, are you having cold feet?" he joked. "Tell me now, better than to find out later."

"Shut up," she whispered. "Never," her eyes opened to him. "I can't wait to marry you. But I am just anxious that something might not go as planned and we did a lot just planning it. Maybe it's the amount of people."

"It's no one more than our family and friends. It's still less than the average wedding."

"I know," she said. "But it's still a big event for us and I keep overthinking that something isn't going to go the way we like it. Or maybe it's excitement."

"Baby, leave it to me and nothing will go wrong. Tomorrow you focus on what you need done and I will take care of everything else... If," he emphasized, "something were to happen. We've planned tours, gigs, projects, musicals, movies... a backyard wedding is very minimal compared to what we've done before and the people organizing it know what they're doing."

"Mm. I know." Her fingers toyed with the chain around his neck beneath his T-shirt. She kissed his chest. "I'm grateful for all of it. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"I don't know what I would do without you either. Absolutely none of it." Agnetha had smiled with her eyes closed.

"Good," she told him cheekily. For a while she had remained silent as he stroked her hair. He felt her falling asleep and he knew her too well, she wouldn't want to move, especially being comfortable. "Anna," he said after a while. "Don't sleep. Not here."