Filming finally came to a close with Camilla arranging the floral centerpiece for the dining table. Henrik could hardly wait to get home. He was supposed to meet up with the guys; they had been friends since high school and went out for a meal on a regular basis, even though he couldn’t always make it. He sent a text, made his excuses. He just couldn’t face it. Instead he went out for a run in the cold night air, then took a long, hot shower, poured himself a whiskey, and fell asleep in front of an old episode ofSeinfeld.
The following morning, he was right back at it. When he arrived at the mansion, they all changed into pajamas so it would look as if they’d slept over. The first scene featured Christmas breakfast with rice pudding, and ham on freshly baked wort bread. They all praised Anita’s new rub, which made her happy.
Then they filmed lunch. Anita’s son, Niklas, and his family showed up, and they filmed Henrik, Camilla, and Tom carving the ham and piling meatballs and potatoes on gold-trimmed serving dishes that had come from his grandfather’s childhood home. Henrik cut generous slices of the previous day’s sourdough. He really wanted to tell theproduction team the story of the starter; he knew they would love it. But of course he kept quiet.
When his mother and Vanja arrived, the atmosphere grew chilly. His parents greeted each other with a formal handshake and awkward air kisses. Vanja followed suit. If there was anyone who loathed Hasse more than Henrik’s mom, it was Vanja. Henrik couldn’t understand why they had agreed to be in the show at all.
They were filmed watchingDonald Duck and His Friends Wish You a Merry Christmasas a family. (Recorded, of course.) Then they went for a festive walk together before dinner.
The snow lay thick on the ground, creating a magical atmosphere. Darkness was falling and the air was chilly. All the moisture had frozen, forming tiny, shimmering ice crystals everywhere.
Henrik walked alongside his mother, but the cameras were on so they couldn’t talk about anything personal. He watched his father, walking out in front of the group between Camilla and Niklas, chatting and laughing like a jovial patriarch. The production team only wanted to film a short section of the walk, but it was good to get out of the stuffy house.
“Have you talked about the board meeting?” his mother said once the cameras were far enough away. Her words formed little white clouds in the cold. Henrik had told her about his disastrous conversation with his father, and she had given him lots of encouragement.
He shook his head. “As far as I know, Camilla and Tom are still in favor, but I haven’t discussed it any more with Dad.”
The evening ended with a traditional lutefisk. Hasse shared his personal recipe, of course. The fish preparation had already been filmed that morning, so all that was left was for Tom and Henrik to whip up a white sauce. Though it was a short scene, Henrik found it increasingly difficult to keep up the facade. He tried to play along and chat about any of the approved conversation topics, but the pretense had become almost physically painful to him. How much of his life was a sham?
When they had finished, Elnaz came over to him.
“Don has seen the latest clips fromLet’s Get Baking, and he wants to talk to us and Ted—do you have a few minutes?”
He followed her upstairs to his old bedroom, which had long ago been converted into a library, and Elnaz got them all on speakerphone.
“Okay, Don, we’re all here.”
“I’ll come straight to the point. This is the most boring crap I’ve ever seen—I don’t feelanything. Watching paint dry would be more exciting. I want tofeelsomething, for fuck’s sake. Do you understand?”
“I like this flirting idea,” Elnaz said, managing a strained smile. “Henrik and Nora went out for a drink the other night, and you had a nice time, didn’t you?”
“Yeees . . . ,” Henrik began.
“If you’re going down the romance route, something has to fucking happen. Fireworks. A nuclear explosion, okay?” Don broke in.
“No problem,” Elnaz said, looking encouragingly at Henrik.
“No problem,” he heard himself parrot.
“I’d like to see a few scenes where you try to provoke Nora,” Don went on. “See what you get. I think you might be sitting on something really good, and you’re just wasting it. Fiery characters always make good TV.”
Henrik hated the way Don talked about Nora.
They ended the call, and Elnaz looked wearily at Henrik.
“Like I said before, that angle doesn’t feel right. I’ve had enough of humiliation TV. But I still like the idea of a flirtation. A romance,” Elnaz said.
Henrik realized he had had enough. He was already pretending to be part of a loving family—he couldn’t bring himself to pretend to be in love as well.
“I don’t know, I ... Do you really think it will work?”
“Are you ready?” The production assistant had appeared in the doorway. “We need to get going again. It’s your scene, Henrik—dessert wine and Christmas desserts.”
Henrik breathed a sigh of relief at the reprieve. He and Elnaz hadn’t finished their discussion, but he couldn’t think about that right now. He stood up and left the room.
The adults gathered to sip dessert wine in the living room. The open fire was crackling, and the snow was still falling. It was as if everything had been perfectly staged for a cozy family celebration.
“So how’s business, Vanja?” Hasse asked, rolling his cognac around in his glass. He wasn’t a big fan of dessert wine.
