A Finn Named Axel

Three hours have elapsed since I left my home in Brentwood, Essex to begin the drive to Leamington Spa in the English Midlands where I will meet with Axel, the Finn that I have met three years earlier on a ferry crossing between England and Sweden (see post Canada). I am not really that enamored with the idea of meeting up, but Axel has been persistent in his letter-writing, so I have decided to capitulate and meet. Just one weekend and after that I hope that I will never ever have to see him again. It has been an uneventful journey and I am now slowly pulling into railway station car park where we had agreed to meet at 2pm in the afternoon. I wonder if we will recognize one another; after all, last time we met it was just for a fleeting ferry crossing of only twenty-four hours, and in the space of three years people change. I need not be concerned. There in the car park is a solitary figure seemingly waiting for someone to arrive; two arms, two legs, male; it’s Axel. The same Axel from three years ago; slightly better looking, definitely more filled out and not so skinny. Also sans pimples. At least on first impressions, it’s an improvement.

We hug awkwardly; it’s rather hard categorizing the depth of a friendship based on a flimsy encounter three years ago and maintained only by the most sporadic of letters. At the end of the day, we still do not really know one another. I close the car door and Axel gallantly takes my luggage and we begin the awkward walk of two friend-strangers into the town center and hotel so that I can drop off my overnight bag. The hotel room is tiny and the small single bed in it occupies most of the floor space. How on earth will my sleeping bag fit into the almost-invisible floor space? I am grateful that it will be staying only one night.

We now walk back into the city center and as we do I get a closer look at my Finnish weekend companion; He has filled out in the elapsed three years and certainly looks better for it. Now aged twenty-one he is actually not that bad-looking and I had completely forgotten that he has the same stunning cobalt-blue eyes as Richard, the boy with whom I shared that magical first kiss (see post This Lion Can Talk). Oh, but there it is again; the lack of conversation, the uncomfortable silences as we walk side by side. Inside, it’s the same old Axel from three years ago. Thankfully I will be rid of him after the weekend is over. As we cross the road to a Pizza Hut on the other side, a car suddenly comes at me from seemingly nowhere and Axel decisively grabs my hand to whisk me away from danger. We both let it linger for just a little too long before finally letting go and making our way into the restaurant for a much-needed late lunch. ‘Thank you’, I tell him as we find ourselves a table and sit down, I am sincerely touched by his caring gesture..

Our drinks are served and as we wait for our pizzas to arrive we quietly sip our beers. Suddenly, as if from nowhere an unexpected stream of words begin to gush forth from within Axel. Like an infinite cascade of water pouring over a precipice down towards a tranquil lake, the words begin to flow. Indeed, the Finn can talk. He tells me that he has a girlfriend in Helsinki and that they are hoping to soon get engaged. ‘How wonderful’, I reply with feigned enthusiasm and in return inform Axe that currently I am single but elaborate no further. I see no need to share with him the details of my search for Mr. Canada (see post Canada). Now the words begin to flow there is no stopping Axel and he continues with his life-saga; He also tells me that he will be resuming his university studies in Electrical Engineering at The Helsinki University of Technology in the autumn after finally completing his military service just a few months ago at a military base in a town called Riihimäki which is about a one-hour drive from Helsinki. Never heard of it. He rose to the ranks of non-commisioned officer. Really. And Axel continues.

At the Riihimäki army garrison he specialized in telecommunications and now, in-between completing his military service and resuming university studies, he is in Leamington Spa for the summer to brush up on his English and to also earn some much-needed cash. Next week Friday is his last day at work before he returns to Finland where his girlfriend is eagerly awaiting him. I have however failed to absorb this last piece of information, nor the next detail of his life that Axel is generously choosing to share with me. This is because the words military service have once again reminded uncomfortably of the fact that I have still not read The Unknown Soldier. I cannot possibly admit that I have still not read the book he so generously sent me as a gift, was it now two Christmases ago? Even worse I do not know of its location. I could have sworn it was languishing somewhere on my bookshelf at home its virgin pages still untouched, but I now fear the distinct possibility that I accidentally-on-purpose left it behind in my university locker at the end of term. How was I to know that the book's generous benefactor would turn up out of the blue as Axel has done and possibly demand an impromtu on-the-spot synopsis?

How will I explain this monumental faux-pas? Simply put, I cannot. Best to steer the conversation towards a new safer topic. But this is easier said than done. Axel will now simply not stop talking. How can a person veer from compete inarticulation to a verbal avelanche bordering on the irritating? Is it anything to do with the pint of beer in front of him? Are there many people like him back in Finland? Besides all this, I have noticed that he has yet to ask me a single question! Does he not understand the most basic rules of social interaction? Once again I am glad that after this weekend is over we need never, ever again meet. Eventually the right moment indeed presents itself, and when it does I wrestle away from Axel the topic of conversation. Now it's going to be my territory: hobbies and more specifically sports. And what's more, this conversation will be dominated by myself and not him. For a change he will have to fall silent and listen.

 To be continued ......

Next post : 22nd April 2018 :   My Language Versus Yours

Note: All written content is the intellectual property of this Author. Image material is drawn largely from Pixabay with some additions from private family archives.