Page 21 of A New Life in Amsterdam

Five days later I find myself standing outside the Dutch Schooner with a plate of Welsh cakes in one hand and a bottle of Chardonnay in the other.

I thought if I had to bring a plate, then I may as well bring a traditional Welsh delicacy as my first introduction into the community.

It doesn’t get better than Welsh cakes. They’re freshly cooked and still warm; I hope whoever is about to eat them finds them as tasty as the nation’s stroopwafels.

All day I have been filled with trepidation.

The thought of meeting others in the community is exciting, but I’m also a teeny bit nervous that the invite might be from some strange person luring me here under the pretext of a party.

Although, by the noise of the music and the people I can see hanging around outside, it seems there is nothing to fear; the party is real and I haven’t been invited here on some false pretext.

I fiddle with the devil horns I am wearing before making my entrance.

The invite didn’t mention anything about the dress code, but since it’s a Halloween party I thought I should make some kind of effort.

If nobody else has dressed up then I figure I can quickly whip them off.

It’s a win either way. Although when I look around, I can see some people have made a much bigger effort than me.

There are ghouls and witches; someone is even dressed as a pumpkin, which reminds me to ask if anyone here knows about my mysterious pumpkins.

I say hello to a witch with a big green wart on her nose.

She waves her drink at me, and I carry on walking to try and find out who the host is.

Inside people are crammed together and it makes me wonder how many people can legally fit on a houseboat.

I am sure it can’t be this many. I hope it is strong enough to withstand the weight and we don’t all sink.

It seems I am the only outsider here, as when I stand around inside everyone seems to know each other and is chatting away.

I put the Welsh cakes down on a long table filled with Dutch snacks and pour myself a glass of wine.

I didn’t realise quite how awkward I would feel as the only person here who doesn’t know anyone.

Instinctively, I search for Beatrix and Abe.

I’m sure if they are here then they will be kind enough to introduce me to some people.

I just need one friendly face, but it is hard to see who anyone is between the costumes and the way everyone is squashed together.

I manoeuvre my way into a little corner in the kitchen where I hope to feel a little less intimidated.

Fortunately, I hear a female voice shout my name.

‘Sandy, hi.’

I look around to see Beatrix dressed up as a gothic princess. She looks amazing in her long purple and black dress with her hair pulled back into tight braids.

‘Beatrix, how lovely to see a friendly face. I don’t know a soul here.’

‘We can’t have that. Let me introduce you to some people.’

I almost feel like a child on her first day in a new school as Beatrix takes my arm and leads me towards a woman dressed as a gory nurse covered in blood.

‘This is Annelise, who invited you. It’s her place.’

The woman, who must be in her early thirties, holds out her hand to greet me.

‘I heard a British woman bought old Henrik’s houseboat. Welcome, it’s good to finally meet you. Sorry, I should have written your invite in English. I just wrote them all out and posted them. I didn’t think.’

‘Oh, no. It’s fine. I’m supposed to be learning Dutch anyhow. Stroopwafels! You see? That was the first word I learnt.’

‘Ha. Well, that’s an important one, for sure.’ Annelise laughs and then tells me that I must meet Pieter, who spent a while in the UK.

‘Pieter, I want you to meet Sandy. She’s bought Henrik’s boat.’

Pieter is a friendly, jolly guy, with red cheeks and a smile that beams from ear to ear. He juggles his pint as he stretches his hand out to greet me.

‘It will be good to speak English again. It’s been getting rusty since I left as an exchange student.’

‘Great, well, I’m happy for you to keep up your English if I can practise my Dutch on you. I’m trying to learn. I start my lessons next week.’

‘Anytime. You’ll find me on Ship Happens, it’s just on the other side from here.’

‘Ah, yes, I remember seeing that one.’

‘It’s not the finest houseboat here, but I love it. It’s named after my divorce.’

I can’t help but laugh and tell him how fabulous the name is. We chat about things he misses in England, such as the fish and chips he enjoyed on his school exchange in Barnsley.

Pieter insists I meet his girlfriend, who has moved in with him on board Ship Happens, and so we head over towards the bathroom where she is standing.

Lotte is as friendly as her boyfriend and welcomes me to the community.

Beatrix joins us and says Abe is on his way but has been delayed at the cafe.

I don’t know much about Beatrix, and I am about to ask her about herself when a tall, handsome Dracula walks in.

‘Ah, my brother finally got here,’ she says.

‘Your brother?’

I look in the direction of where she is looking and the only person that I can see is Abe.

Pieter waves him over.

‘I haven’t seen Abe for a while. It’s good to catch up.’

‘Sorry,’ I interrupt. ‘Is Abe your brother, Beatrix? You’re brother and sister?’

‘Yes, what did you think?’

‘I don’t really know. I thought perhaps you were together.’

Beatrix laughs so hard she makes a funny snorting sound.

‘Hi, what’s so funny?’ says Abe, joining us.

‘Did you know that Sandy thought we were dating?’

‘Well, I didn’t know. I mean, you seem to get on well and… umm.’ I think of how Abe talked about how Beatrix helped him when he was getting divorced. How could I get it so wrong? She helped as his sister!

‘Ha. I must be spending too much time with you,’ says Beatrix to Abe.

Abe looks at me and smiles, then he shakes his head.

‘You got it all wrong, but I’m very glad it’s been cleared up now,’ he says, giving me one of his bewitching smiles. Does this mean he is free and single?

I take a sip of my wine to compose myself as he stares at me.

Pieter and Lotte interrupt the silence by telling us they need to go over and speak to someone and Beatrix goes with them.

I am about to turn to Abe again when a woman called Camilla comes over and makes a fuss of him, putting a halt to any conversation.

Abe introduces us but she isn’t as friendly as the others.

She seems hostile towards me. She simply says hi and starts whispering in his ear, making me feel like a spare part.

I turn to watch some of the revellers dancing in their crowded space as they start to get merry.

As much as I want to mingle, I don’t have the confidence to approach strangers and introduce myself.

I am certainly not as confident as Camilla, so I am grateful when a young lad named Dirk comes up and says he likes my devil horns.

He then gets whisked off to dance by a girl in her twenties, and I am left with Camilla who still won’t leave Abe alone.

Eventually, I decide it’s time to leave.

At least I have shown my face and will now hopefully recognise more people around here.

While everyone I have spoken to has been lovely, apart from Camilla, I can’t help feeling like the outsider.

I find Annelise and thank her for having me before leaving, grabbing a beef bitterballen from the buffet table on the way out.

As I have this big ball of beef in my mouth, I come face to face with Abe, who must have somehow managed to tear himself away from Camilla.

‘Hi, I was hoping I’d catch you before you left,’ he says.

I try to swallow as quickly as I can so that I am able to respond. I curse myself for being so greedy and not taking a delicate bite out of it instead of shovelling it all in. That will teach me!

It seems like forever that he watches me chewing like some kind of goat, and then finally I swallow and reply.

‘Yeah, I wasn’t sure who’d be here but, yes, it’s good to see you.’ I look at him, trying not to acknowledge that I got him and Beatrix completely wrong, and a part of me is secretly ecstatic but also incredibly nervous about doing anything about it.

‘You too. How have you been?’ he asks.

‘Good. I learnt how to make stroopwafels the other day.’ I eye him nervously, waiting for some recognition; some sign of gratitude for the one I left him and Beatrix. Will he thank me for it when he realises it was me who dropped it off for him?

‘That’s great. You’re really settling in well.’

I feel a twinge of disappointment that he doesn’t offer even a flicker of recognition or gratitude.

‘Umm, yeah, I am. I’m starting to learn Dutch, too.’

‘You’ll have to let me teach you the best words.

They’re not in the books. Only a local can teach you those words.

’ Abe winks and then stares intently at me, with the collar of his Dracula costume touching his ponytail, the red face paint bleeding down from his lip.

By the naughty look in his eyes, I don’t think he means he wants to teach me polite Dutch words for please and thank you.

I am so attracted to him, but I still have to remember that he is my next-door neighbour and I am not looking for a relationship.

‘Ik wil je kussen. I mean, did anyone teach you that?’

‘Um, no, but it’s early days. I’ve only read the first few pages of a book.’

‘Ah, well, I hope you can study it quickly and then you can answer me if it’s okay or not. Although, why wait? I asked if I can kiss you. Is that rude of me?’

‘Oh, umm. No, it’s not.’ I feel my cheeks flush and despite all my fears and reservations, I lean over to him and give Abe the quickest peck on the lips.

It feels so functional and unromantic and I curse myself for being so clumsy.

However, Abe gently pulls me back to him and kisses me.

My body feels as though it wants to explode, and a warm tingle runs right through me.

The houseboat might be full to the brim with partygoers but, as Abe kisses me, I am oblivious to everyone around us.

When Abe insists on walking me home, I don’t argue that I am a grown, independent woman who doesn’t need a chaperone.

Instead, I take his hand and walk along the canal with him.

We walk past the nearby houseboats, most of which are in darkness, since their owners are still at the party.

You can tell which are the barges that are rented out to tourists as they are still lit up with twinkling lights.

We walk hand in hand beneath the street lights that shine down on us, creating ghostly shadows that complete the eerie Halloween feeling in the air. As we hold hands it strikes me quite how tall Abe is compared to my five foot five stature. He must be at least six foot three.

While we walk, I make small talk by asking Abe outright if he received the stroopwafel, but he seems genuinely baffled.

‘No, I never found anything on my doorstep.’

‘You didn’t see anything wrapped up in a red tissue?’

‘A red tissue?’

‘Yes.’

‘Ah. Okay. Now it makes sense. I came home the other night and Ted was ahead of me. When I reached him, he had shredded tissue everywhere. He must have eaten it!’

‘Oh, naughty Ted. How funny. Thank goodness I hadn’t put any chocolate topping on. I should have thought. I’m so sorry.’

‘No, it’s fine. Thank you, I am pretty sure Ted appreciated it.’

We have just stopped laughing about Ted and how naughty he can be when we reach my houseboat. I am nervous of what Abe will expect. I hope he doesn’t want to come in.

‘Umm, so I guess I’d better get to bed,’ I say. I hope he doesn’t think I mean with him joining me!

‘Yes, of course. It’s late and I’m in the cafe early tomorrow.’

‘Well then, thank you for walking me home.’

‘Thank you for allowing me to.’

Abe reaches towards me and kisses me goodnight.

It is all very polite and, thankfully, he is the perfect gentleman.

I practically skip inside and lean against the door as I think about how lovely he is.

As I grin to myself, I know exactly what name I am going to call my lovely houseboat.

It is going to be called New Beginnings and I couldn’t think of anything more appropriate.