Wednesday, 10 February 2016.
Day 52
10:01 Morning!! 😊 Just reading your messages. I see some selfies up there! 😊 Very frosty here. Hope you slept well. Any dreams?
It’s a nice tattoo on your neck. Discreet. And sexy.
10:11 Hi Christian…
Oh, the back-and-forth interaction. The imagined person. The unveiling of a mystery. The gradual getting-to-know. The peek into the other’s soul, into their hopes and dreams. The warmth and the flirting — that’s the main thing for now. No hurry.
Anna’s at recess at school, daydreaming for just a moment.
10:12 Hello, Annita! Was listening to your music. Just having breakfast. Have a good morning. Hope you don’t get hit by any flying objects!!
She told him yesterday about a 9th grader who threw a really hard snow ball in the back of her head on Monday. From afar. She got furious and told the pupil that next time she’ll have to call the police. Eurgh. Driving home feeling dizzy had been so hard.
11:12 Haha. Thanks!
11:15 I was halfway through when you popped up. Will keep chatting. 😊
Please do. Make me smile – like always! I was just chatting to a pupil who’s really nice. He lent me his spare phone when I broke my mobile last week. Remember I’ve lost all your previous messages? Wish I could retrieve them. They were so sweet!
I’m in need of new ones now.
11:16 I bet you have lots of good kids there. I’m not a fan of the one who chucked the ice ball at your head though!! I was hit when I was at school and it almost knocked me out! You’ve just made me remember that. 😊
And you keep breaking your phones. You must be quite strong. All those hours at the gym. 😊
11:20 Right. Talk to you later. Have a lovely day.
Btw, I booked my flights finally. Will arrive in Helsinki on Sunday the 21st at 1830. So are you free on Monday?
Anna looks at the spare phone again — OMG, OMG! He really is coming to Finland. As promised.
11:25 Sorry. Finished my lesson now. I was showing some pupils your website.
Seriously??? You are? So cool!!
Happy your ticket has been booked. Maybe I’ll even have dinner with you on Sunday?
That would be nice. 😊
Great. You run now and I’ll catch you later. If I write, just read when you can.
So, about being strong – yes, a little. I like lifting weights. 250 abs per time. But there’s a long way to go. Ah, and talking about sports, I miss jogging when it’s been raining non-stop.
Lunch now. Fish and salad.
11:27 Bon apetit! Impressive gym work there!
13.38 Hello! How was your morning? I popped out for a river walk. A few work calls and almost lunchtime here. Played your music along the way. Loved it. 😊 Very sunny today. But also frosty. My favourite weather – I should have taken a pic.
14:30 😊 Yes, you should have. I love sunshine, especially in cold days. Happy you liked the music.
I’m going to the hairdresser’s. You have an hour to give me your opinion. Either keeping this medium-dark blond. Or some light brown with vivid colors. Have had many hair colors. Even black.
Anna sends him three pictures of her with three different hair colors. She chooses good photos – of course. Gotta make an impression…
14:35 Hmmm. Tricky. All look good!! Are you natural blonde?
Thanks! I was as a child. Light brown now. But no preference?
Hmmm. I think your hair looks great already! You and your daughter could be sisters! I like your colour as it is. 😊
That Sofia Vergara daughter of mine and me? Sisters! Hahahaha. I wish.
16:09 Oh, my daughter is much much more beautiful! And on the inside, as well. Heart of gold, that girl. And very sharp brain!
Thanks for the opinion. My son loves the brown and my daughter the blond. So I vary. Keeping the dark blond for now. ☺️
16.19 Good decision. It’s a nice colour.
I dyed my hair once in my life. Jet black. I looked like Dracula so tried to dye it back. Then it turned into a copper colour!! So I had to shave it off. Never again. Well….there’s no point now anyway. 😊
16.23 Your story is funny!! And the way you felt each time. I’ve had similar hair experiences. Hahaha.
I was going to ask where you would like to go for dinner. If you are free of course.
16.26 Tonight? 😊
Not sure where I am staying yet but will be central.
Haha. Sunday. Next Sunday that is. 😊
16.29 Thought you were suddenly here to surprise me tonight.
That would be fun.
Yes. Sure it’s too late?
I would love to have dinner with you on the 21st.
Vapiano closes at 11 p.m.
Vapiano sounds great. You are not working the next day, is that right? Just concerned if you have to get up at 0550!
16.47 No, not working the next day. Yay!
But you’ll be tired from the trip.
It’s not a long journey. Plus, the next morning I will sleep in.
Hey, today I’ve been working on a new AI engine that should definitely be called A.N.N.A….R.I.T.V.A.
A=Articulate, N=Natty, N=Nightly, A=Alluring 😊
R=Rapid (brain), I=Impassioned, T=Talented, V=Valiant, A=Amazing
My God. How sweet is that!! S2
16:52 Was going to put a T=Tattoo. But you don’t have enough T’s in your name. Are you sure it’s not RITTVA?
17.06 Awww.
My turn.
C arinhoso
H andsome
R apt
I ngenious
S urprisingly sweet
T ea for two?
I maginable
A musing
N aked in the sauna?
Maybe that’s you!
17:07 Hahaha!! That made me laugh! 😊
I knew it! But it’s unfair. My two names together have more letters than yours!
Still, I wanted to express how I appreciate your personality and good manners. Did try making you laugh, too.
17:10 You covered all the bases. 😊
Looking forward to seeing you very soon. I must have walked past that restaurant a million times. Not sure I’ve been in.
It’s simple and good. 9 p.m?
17.13 Perfect.
Loved the acrostic you made of my name. ☺️
17:15 Yours was better.
Anna’s just leaving the hairdresser’s.
Christian is always so nice!
On the other hand…………
…if there’s one thing I’ve learned already…
…it is that if I like my Tinder match’s voice, there’s a bigger chance of liking them in person. The opposite is also true………😬
17.19 Would you like to give me a call? In a few minutes?
17:20 Standby.
The phone rings. Christian’s calling her on WhatsApp. She answers.
Fingers crossed.
“Hello, how are you doing there?” he says with a voice and a native accent that sounds like a mixture of Hugh Grant’s and Simon Cowell’s.
Oh My God!!! Beautiful.
She gets goosebumps all over her body as the sides of her lips turn up and she blushes a little.
They discuss Anna’s English – he says it’s perfect. Much better than he expected.
These Englishmen!
Oh, stop it – you’re making me blush!
They chat about his job in Finland, his years in South Africa.
About why Tinder. “It gets lonely,” is his answer.
Finally meeting… “You really are coming to Finland. As promised!”
“I always do what I promise.”
It’s a very, very pleasant call, and Anna just adores his voice. And his way of interacting with her. Why does it always feels so nice with him?
He feels so present in the here and now.
17.42 Sorry. My son called. Always nice to talk to him, of course, but not nice to have our first phone call interrupted.
17:46 No problem. I thought it was all my work messages coming through. Will talk again soon. Nice to hear your beautiful voice.
Thank you. I feel the same way.
17:47 You haven’t sent me you new hairdo.
I will try a selfie at home. 😊 Have to walk there now.
I’m going to go for the African Karoo desert look for my hair.
Phew! That’s great. When Christian sent Anna a pic of him in South Africa, she thought he looked very handsome. Tall, in shape – thankfully not overly fit – and with a beautiful friendly smile. Almost bald, hair trimmed short. Casual and elegant.
Later, he sent he a pic which was taken in a recent business meeting in Finland. He had longer bald hair, and that didn’t look very nice, tbh. That day, she hadn’t wasted any time, but told him the African haircut suited him much, much better. “It gives you a younger, more modern look.”
17:49 Cool. I liked it!! Modern.
But no sun tan. 😑
Well, not yet.
I had a nice tan for over 20 years. But I guess bad for skin.
17.50 If I could travel, we could both get a tan in Spain in ten days. 😊
Well….that can be arranged v easily.
In Finland, we just freeze the skin so it won’t get old. Ever. Haha – I wish. Hey, who knows? Maybe we’ll just go crazy and hop on a plane to Spain.
It’s not far. Where I live(d) was 22 degrees today.
Or then a cottage and the hole in the ice. Warm and nice. 😊
17:22 I love that!!!! Both extremes. Fireplace. Sunshine.
Me too.
You have no idea how much I love fires. 😊 🔥
17.56 I love a dark cottage with the glow and noise and smell from the fireplace. The silent forest outside. The privacy.
If you are trying to make me move to Finland….. it’s working!!
And I love hooks, too!!! You’re addicted to fires and my teens say I am addicted to hooks. More about that later.
17:57 Hooks?
Yes, I’m crazy about hooks.
For clothes? Or fishing??
For mostly everything. Got one as a surprise gift from my daughter last Xmas. I got so happy and emotional that I cried. She started laughing and filmed me smiling and crying – holding the hook. Hilarious.
17.59 Hahaha. A hook!?
I’ll send you a pic soon.
Interested about your hooks.
18:00 Basic stuff. Not hooking myself up in spears and ceilings and such, like some lunatics. So, you have nothing to fear.
18:01 Haha. Very good. Phew.
I’m walking past Bulevardi and send him a pic of the icy church yard.
18:02 Are you close to cathedral?
Near Esplanadi. So not that far from the cathedral.
It looks familiar. I have walked a lot across Helsinki. Hope it snows soon.
Hope for a nice fire, at least.
Where can we light a fire?
We’ll have to google that because outside is no fun in the rain right now.
Back home, Anna sends him the requested selfie of her new hair.
18:24 Very nice! Looks great.
18:45 Thanks! 😘
21.20 Hello. 😘 Just a quick one. Hope you’re finding the time to relax over there and enjoying your new hairdo. What do your kids think? I’m sure they love it. Going for my Karoo cut next week.
21.24 Sounds great! I’m going to sew something with my sewing machine now.
What are you up to over there?
21.37 What are you creating tonight?
Just a practical sheet system for the sofa bed.
Oh. Very good. I’d like to see that. Did you take classes for that? Or are you just a natural??
Only in elementary school. I’m no good. Just improvise.
I think you are very modest.
No. In Finland people are really good at these things. I just learn the basics of everything and like to do a bit when needed.
21:41 That’s still impressive. Just about to eat so speak to you soon. Don’t forget to send the finished product! Please. 😊
Haha. Talk to you soon. Good night. ☺️
You never know, but who knows, who knows?
© 2017 rf
Obs. All names have been changed, and chat messages were published with the match’s kind permission.
Obs. Day 52 of life can actually be good.
The Chronicles of a Happy Divorcée 