Poles Apart (12 page)

Outside, the dark blue hue had lightened
a shade. He grasped Sarah’s hand, unwilling for her to back out. “Follow me.”

Just as he thought, she squealed all the
way to the frozen lake, chanting some African war cry in between, turning up
the volume as her body submerged into the icy water. “It’s cold, it’s cold, it’s
cold,” she managed between gasps. Sarah’s shoulders were barely wet when she
pulled herself out, losing her footing on the last step. Her hands skidded down
the ladder’s railings as she sank back into the water. Poor Sarah. Double dunk.

Bending down, Niklas grasped her hand,
helping her out. He handed her a towel.

“Your turn now,” she said, teeth
chattering.

Niklas obliged, immersing himself
totally, and praying Sarah’s foot didn’t hold his head under. Several moments
later he broke the surface of the water. Relieved. She couldn’t have found the
experience too bad after all.

Sarah screamed as they hurried back to
the sauna. “I can’t believe I jumped into an ice hole!”

Would she do it again, and again, as was
customary?

Near the sauna, Niklas dove into the
snow. “You should try this, too. It’s fun.”

“You’re certifiably insane. But, why
not?”

Their laughter filled the air as Sarah
rolled in the cold powder beside Niklas. When she tumbled into him, he didn’t waste
the opportunity to wrap his arms around her, warming her lips with a kiss. As
much as he wanted to stay there like that, if they didn’t get up, they’d suffer
frostbite.

He pulled Sarah to her feet. “Let’s head
back inside, warm ourselves up.”

“And have breakfast?”

“Of course.”

As Sarah scurried to her seat, Niklas splashed
two ladles of water over the rocks. Instant heat. Not that it wasn’t already
hot in there. He placed six
makkara
, wrapped in foil, on the steaming
stones.

“You’re cooking breakfast? Here?”

Niklas raised his gaze to Sarah peering down
at him.

“Yes.
Makkara.
Have you tasted our
Finnish sausages yet?”

“No. An interesting way to cook
them...in the bathroom.”

“Sauna, Sarah. Big difference to a
bathroom.” Niklas headed back to his spot opposite Sarah, leaving the
makkara
to cook. He’d flip them over in a little while.

Clasping his hands together, he leaned
forward and turned to her. “So what did you think of the
avanto
?”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this,
but...it was pretty awesome. Totally invigorating.”

“Would you do it again? You do remember
it’s tradition to sauna then
avanto
several times in succession?”

She nodded. “I think I would.”

“See, didn’t I tell you it’s not so bad—that
you’d be surprised how liberating and exhilarating it could be?”

“You did.”

He reached for her hand. “It’s the same
with forgiveness, Sarah. The thought of it is most times terrifying, something people
usually vow they’d never do. But once you take that step and dive into the
waters of grace...like the
avanto
, it’ll make you feel alive again.”
Running his fingers through her hair, Niklas tucked the damp strands behind her
ear. “I know you might think that you can’t forgive Andrew, but you didn’t
think you could jump into the
avanto
either. And you did. Don’t you want
to feel that kind of liberation in your soul?”

Sarah opened her mouth, but no words
formed. She moved her head up and down. Were those tears glistening on her skin?
Or merely perspiration?

She swiped a hand across one cheek, then
the other, blinking her eyes.

Definitely tears.

Niklas moved closer and folded her into
his embrace. She melted into his arms, releasing her cries as she sought to
forgive the one who had wronged her so. Niklas helped her through the process—a
bittersweet experience. Wonderful to see Sarah turn her heart back to God, and say
aloud that she forgave Andrew. Regretful it was his turn to do something hard.
Confession was never easy, but he had to do it and trust God to do the rest.

Not now, though.

Later, at Korvatunturi, everything would
be revealed.

The
Range Rover’s engine preheated—a necessity in these extreme climates—Niklas
bent down and with one hand unplugged the power cable from the front bumper
that fed from the main utility supply of his house. He held the cell phone to
his ear with the other hand.

“Thanks for agreeing to puppy-sit,
Alexis. I know this is short notice, and it’s Christmas Eve. If this wasn’t
important, I wouldn’t take this trip.” With each word, tiny white clouds puffed
into the morning air.

“My friend, it’s fine. But you do know
you owe me twice now?” Alexis’s laugh boomed through the earpiece.

Niklas eased the cell phone away from
his ear until it was safe to talk again as he scraped the ice from the windows,
and then brushed the snow from the car. “I know. Just relax and make yourself
at home. You don’t need to do much—make sure the room is constantly warm, keep
your eye on the puppies, and take Mila out a few times, that’s all.

“There’s a pot of good soup in the
fridge you can heat for lunch. As always, help yourself to anything. The front
door will be unlocked, and we’ll be back around six.”

“We?”

“I’ll explain—”

“Later… I know. When are you leaving?”

“In a few minutes, so you’ll need to be
around within the hour. The fire’s roaring and should last until you get here.”

Niklas said goodbye to his friend then returned
his phone to his jacket pocket as he stepped back inside.

Sarah sat on the floor beside the
whelping box, cuddling a puppy in her arms. She looked up as Niklas entered and
smiled. “I love puppy breath.”

“You look so cute,
Pupu
. You will
be a wonderful mother one day.” Hopefully sooner rather than later.

“You think so?”

Going down on his haunches, he bent
forward and kissed her. “I know so.”

“I often used to think God was punishing
me when He took away my baby—that He didn’t think I’d be a fit mother.”

Niklas’s hand slid around her back and
he drew her close. “Sarah, God would never think or do that. He loves you...passionately.”
And so do I.

Taking Sarah’s hand, he rose, pulling
her up with him. He took the sleeping puppy from her arms and placed it back
with Mila. “Come, we need to go, or we’ll run out of time.”

“We’re going somewhere?”

“Yes, but it’s a secret. I promise
you’ll love it. Trust me.”

Her gaze settled on him. “You say that a
lot.”

“What?”

“Trust me.” She stepped closer and
reached up. Her hand brushed his cheek as her gaze oscillated between his mouth
and eyes. “I do trust you, Niklas. You’ve given me no reason not to.”

Will she still think that when we get to
Korvatunturi?
If only he could tell her now. But
there was only one way, one place, to break the oath he’d taken.

He pressed his lips to her head. “I’m
glad,
Pupu
.”

Niklas threw one last log on the fire
before they walked out the door toward the car, Risto following close behind.
He opened the passenger door and Sarah eased inside. The moment Niklas opened
the back door, Risto hopped up onto the seat, his face instantly at the window
as the door shut closed.

“We’re taking him with?” Sarah asked as
Niklas slid behind the wheel. “What about Mila and the puppies?”

He started the car and reversed. “I’ve a
friend coming to look after them until we’re back. And yes, we’re taking Risto
with. No sense in over-burdening Alexis with another dog. Besides, Risto will
enjoy the ride.”

“Will it take long to get there?”

“About three hours straight driving. But
it’ll take us a little longer as we’ll stop first for lunch when we’re close
by.”

“That’s quite a distance. Must be
something spectacular you want to show me to drive that far.”

Niklas smiled. No amount of prying or
prodding would get him to reveal their destination. Korvatunturi revealed its
own secrets. He had no idea how—it just did.

Sarah stared out of the window at the
passing landscape for a moment before turning back to him. “Have you thought of
names for the puppies?”

His low chuckle filled the cab. “No, I
haven’t. Do you want to help me? It’ll keep us busy—like a road game. It could
take some time to come up with twelve suitable names.”

“I’d love to. Certainly beats playing ‘I
Spy’.”

Retrieving her handbag from the floor,
Sarah pulled out her journal. Removing the pen tucked inside, she tapped it against
the paper, clearly thinking hard. He’d leave it up to her. Women had to be
better at this sort of thing than men.

Eyes wide, she grabbed his arm. “I’ve
got it. There are twelve pups. What about naming them after the twelve days of
Christmas? Of course, it would sound ridiculous doing that in English, but it
could be really cool in Finnish.”

“Ha, and you don’t think that what
sounds ridiculous to you in English will sound just as ridiculous to Finnish
people?”

Clutching the pen, she waved her hand in
the air. “Don’t let’s worry about that right now. Let’s just try it.”

Niklas shrugged, laughing. “All right.”

“On the first day of Christmas the
singer’s true love brought her a partridge in a pear tree. What’s the Finnish
word for partridge?”

“
Peltopyy
.”

Sarah wrote it down. “Pel-top-ewe.
That’s not so bad. You could always call him Pelty for short.”

This would be amusing. He’d humor her.
“I could.”

“Day two is two turtle doves.”

“
Turturikyyhky
.”

“OK, that one’s a tad complicated. I
think you’ll need to spell all these words for me.” A half-laugh slipped from
her mouth and Niklas had to wonder if she wasn’t already regretting her idea.
“I can’t even repeat that word. But then, I’m not the one who has to say it.
What about just a plain dove?”

“That would be
jossa
.”

Her eyes brightened. “I like that.” She wrote
the word in her journal.

“Next—three French hens.”

“
Ranskan kanat
.”

“Hmm, we can’t have two words for a
dog’s name. Maybe just a hen?”

“
Kana
.”

“Works for me.” The pen touched the
paper again. Black flowed onto the white, following the movement of Sarah’s
hand.

The word written, she lifted the pen. Niklas
glanced at her list. She had beautiful handwriting. How he’d love to see Sarah
Toivonen in her script. Dare he even hope?

“Four calling birds?”

“
Jossa lintuja
, so you might want
to only go for bird which will be
lintu.
”

“That’s pretty nice. Right?”

With a nod and a smile, Niklas gave
Sarah the reassurance she sought. “Five golden rings is next, is it not?”
Wouldn’t that be an amazing gift for Sarah—one for each finger of her hand?
Although, only one ring mattered. If he offered that gift, would she accept?

“Yes, it is.” Sarah tipped her head, her
smile following the movement. “You do seem to know your Christmas songs.”

“How could I not? I live in the land of
Christmas.”

Leaning closer, she whispered, “Actually,
the land of Christmas is Israel, more specifically the town of Bethlehem.”

“It is. I’m so glad you remembered.”

She kissed his cheek. “So am I. Thank
you for what you did this morning. You set me free.”

“No, Sarah. Jesus did that. I merely
helped you remember what He’d done for you.”

Her hand covered his. She squeezed. “I’m
so glad I met you, Niklas Toivonen. Can we always be friends?”

He wanted far more than that. But he had
to wait to see the outcome of Korvatunturi before asking her.

“
Sormukset
.”

“What?”

“Golden rings...the Finnish word.”

Sarah raised her hands in the air, giving
her fingers a little jiggle. “Hallelujah. At last, one word for two. And a good
one at that.”

By the time they had made their way
through the twelve days of Christmas, they’d added
Hanhi
,
Joutsen
,
Neito
,
Nainen
,
Valtias
, and
Säkkipillinsoittaja—
which
they both agreed should be shortened to
Säkki
, even though the meaning
changed from a piper to a sack. The final name chose was
Rumpali
.

“I really like the names,
Pupu
.
That was a great idea—one for each day since we met.”

“Has it been twelve days already?”

“Uh-huh.” Puckering his lips, Niklas
blew Sarah a kiss. “It’s true what they say—that time flies when you’re having
fun.”

She smiled, then with her hand on her
mouth, she released a yawn.

“You’re tired. That was hard work,
wasn’t it? I’m sorry. I know our language isn’t easy.”

“No, it isn’t.” She pulled a sad face,
her mouth drooping at the corners. “I wouldn’t make a very good Finn.”

“I don’t know about that.” Niklas slid
his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. He turned his head to Risto
gazing out the side window, the pane smeared with drool. “What do you think
about the names, Risto? Are they any good?”

The dog let out a loud bark between
pants.

“I guess that means yes—don’t you think,
Sarah?”

“My Finnish might not be good, but my
Golden Retriever is perfect. Definitely a yes.”

Risto twisted around on the seat and
walked to the opposite window. He squeezed his head through the gap beneath the
headrest and licked Niklas’s ear before giving another loud bark.

“Risto, please, my ears.”

Sarah laughed, covering another yawn.
The action did not escape Niklas’s attention,

“
Pupu
, why don’t you rest? If you
fall asleep, I’ll wake you when we’re close.”

“All right.” She snuggled into his arm.

Niklas slid a CD into the player, and
Christmas carols permeated the silence that Sarah’s voice had filled. Even
though the songs about the Savior’s birth soothed his soul, they did nothing
for his nerves. The closer they got to Korvatunturi, the bigger the gnawing in
his stomach grew.

He glanced down at Sarah several times,
asleep on his shoulder. He had fallen madly in love with her, and he’d rather
this drive was to tell her only that, than to confess.

Sarah woke as Niklas turned off the
car’s engine.

“Are we there already?” She
straightened, combing her hair with her fingers.

“Almost. Just stopping to grab a bite to
eat. You hungry?”

“A little. Those
makkara
you
cooked for breakfast were quite filling, so something small will do. Takeaway.
I’m anxious to see where we’re going.”

“Wait here with Risto. I’ll hurry inside
and get us each a sandwich and coffee. That OK?”

She nodded.

When Niklas returned to the car, Risto
sat upright on the back seat, Sarah’s red and white scarf tied in a knot around
his neck. “And that?” He gave her a quizzical look as he handed her a coffee
cup and ham, cheese and cucumber sandwich on dark bread.

“I was bored. Besides, he looks
Christmassy now.”

After they’d finished eating, they drove
for another twenty minutes before Niklas parked the car beneath a snow-laden
tree close to his childhood home.

Sarah took in the surroundings. “It’s
beautiful here.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet. Wait
until we get there.”

“We’re not there yet?”

“No. This is only where we change our
mode of transport. There are no roads where I’m taking you.”

“No roads? Why?” She leaned over and
retrieved her journal from the floor where she’d set it down earlier then
tucked it back into her bag.

Niklas lowered his voice. “Because this
is a secret place.”

She let out a laugh. “Whatever you say.”

“Come. Follow me.” He grabbed her hand
and began to run down the hill toward their ride. Risto bounded through the
snow between them.

At the bottom of the small hill, stood
the log cabin where he was born, but he’d save that info for later.

The sight before him affirmed the magic
of this place. Eight reindeer stood waiting, already hitched to a beautiful red
two-seater sleigh. Silver trimmed the edges, and a curly pattern in the same
color decorated the sides.

“That’s so beautiful. We’re going on a
sleigh ride?” Their pace slowed, and Sarah slid her hand into Niklas’s as they
walked the rest of the way.

“I promised you one.”

“You did?”

As Santa.