Could homecoming be any more humiliating?
After driving all day Kaarna brings them home and drags Ken into the house in an Ikea bag.
Poor Ken. Kaarna has never seen him this devastated.
And just when you think you have hit the very bottom, the temperature drops to 11 °C. In the middle of July!
And Ritva reports that she still hasn’t found a matching body donor either.
Kaarna tries to take care of Ken:
- Please eat something. This is your best comfort food, borsch soup with too much sour cream.
Hector comes to the rescue:
- How is Ken?
Kaarna tells:
- He’s been in bed ever since we got home. Doomscrolling Instagram, being suddenly very interested in football. He says that the videos and memes of some Erling Braut Haaland are the only thing that can make him smile anymore. Listen, that song is playing now all the time! Haaland! Haaland!
Kaarna wants Ken to get some fresh air, but Ken cries:
- Who’s gonna pick the blueberries? Who’s gonna wash the rugs? Mow the lawn? I’m useless.
- I will. If the weather ever lets me! It’s statistically the hottest week of the year. Yet the temperature is close to zero and the rainfall is breaking records. I believe the summers are forever lost, they keep getting worse every year.
- Could be worse, uh? You could lose both of your legs… Ken points out bitterly.
In Kaarna’s opinion the blueberry picking ruins the bliss of being in the woods. What a torture! She just hasn’t got enough patience for this shit job!
- Is this all you got?! One louzy jar?
Ken leads Kaarna to the garage and gives her two big buckets:
- We need at least this much to make it through winter.
Ken is not totally useless. He can pick the raspberries and red currants in the garden.
Well, at least on the outermost branches of the bushes. Kaarna will have to dive into the inner parts.
After the blueberries Kaarna has to deal with the rugs.
This task should be done in the beginning of the summer when the weather is still drier and the rugs dry up quicklier.
Now with all the rains it’ll be a challenge.
- One done, seven more to go, Kaarna sighs. Then Filia attacks from behind the corner:
- Here are mine. Strong Girl always washes my rugs too.
- What the actual fuck?! You can’t be serious!
Kaarna rushes to Mocambo and asks Taylor:
- Where’s that gigolo of yours?
- Oh Kaarna, did you let the thunder take you by surprise, you’re soaking wet!
- Where is he?!
- He’s in the back, preparing the room for the next client.
- Geordie, you selfish prick! You’ve made Ken wash your mothers’ rugs for years!
- Yes, he’s always very helpful.
- He’s a fucking torso now! How dare you take advantage of his kindness!
- You’re so hot when you’re mad… come on babe, I’ll make it all up to you. We have a good hour before my client arrives.
- It’s not to me you have to make everything up, but to Ken. You stupid dick…
- Ken can wait. Right now you are here and I am here and the incredible passion between us…
Kaarna rips off her wet shirt and puffs:
- Oh why not, you slimy bastard. I need it.
- But forget the pretentious roses and the embarrassing sweet talking! Just make it quick and be the savage animal you really are.
Kaarna hands Ken a box of pop corn and says:
- Now let’s go to the backyard. The show is about to begin.
- What show?
Ken is speeches doe a while when he sees the star of this show.
Then he whispers to Kaarna:
- Are you sure he’s up to this? There are quite a few rugs on that pile…
- He’s got stamina. And great hands. Trust me.
And Geordie actually seems to be enjoying all the attention and soap water.
But it doesn’t take long until Filia notices what’s going on and screams:
- No no no no no!!!! This is not right! My baby boy! Stop right now.
Then she turns to Kaarna:
- You evil little thing! Washing rugs is not men’s job!
- It’s not Ken’s job either.
- This show is getting better all the time, Ken thinks.
Geordie gently calms his mother down:
- I can do this now. It’s my pleasure. Don’t worry, dear mother.
- My poor son. I will start making you moussaka right now.
The unpredictable weather makes it difficult to dry up the rugs.
Kaarna hangs them up and suddenly the rain starts and they get wet again.
Then she tries to figure out how to dry them up indoors.
But with that she makes the home all humid and impossible to live in.
Ritva comes to check how Ken is doing. Not well.
- I try my best to find you a donor, but the organ business is out of control these days. The rich people are hoarding good bodies and the prices are terribly high.
Ken tries to cheer himself up on the rainy days by crafting and sewing, but nothing works.
A lovely new fabric doesn’t inspire him at all.
Even assembling a furniture kit for his dollhouse feels too difficult.
Kaarna is overwhelmed with all the work she now realizes Ken has always been doing.
Well, of course Kaarna has done her part of the chores, but obviously Ken has done a lot more. And Kaarna hates all the tasks she needs to take care of now!
The worst is the daily dilemma of what to cook for lunch and dinner.
Every smallest sound from the neighbors make Ken cry. The squeaking trampolines, the barking dogs, the kids with scooters, Filia's clatter from upstairs. Kaarna is feeling helpless. It's hard to see Ken being such a wreck, falling apart both mentally and physically.
- I'm so tired of setbacks. I'm tired of rain. I'm tired of everything. I want to be who I used to be, getting things done, being creative and strong and healthy.
To be continued.