Arvidlet them out. The three of them were making a commotion in the hall; heavyoutdoor coats were taken off hangers and remarks exchanged. But Reidar didn'tsay anything to Emmanuel while Arvid was bundling the two guests out of theflat. The silence between the brothers was palpable; they each stared at theirown section of the wall, absent-mindedly listening to Arvid flirting with
Iselinthe way old men do, until at last he closed the door.
Reidarrealized that the real cause for Kirkenær's prompt, fuss-free departure wasthat the businessman considered the battle already won. While Reidar sat thinkingabout the situation, he could feel the anger growing inside him. At the sametime he could feel how, yet again, resignation was trying to dampen his rage.It was a feeling he hated more than any other – how apathy had sneaked into hisconsciousness, with the passing of the years, in the same way that mist seepsinto the forest to make it impenetrable and colourless. It was the kind ofapathy that tried to deceive the body into thinking that it had neither theinclination nor the energy to take up cudgels. This duality of the senses -aggression mixed with resignation – gave him the fleeting feeling ofsuffocation. Yet he understood that this meeting was one of the most crucialmoments he had experienced for many years. These thoughts churned through hisbrain as Arvid's whinnying laughter carried through the hall door and Emmanuelglowered darkly at the wall, presumably on account of Reidar's negative bodylanguage. At this moment Reidar was planning a strategy with two short-termgoals. The first was to torpedo the attempt to sell the shop which the brothersowned in joint partnership. The second was to buy himself time to ponder thesituation which had arisen.
Thefirst strike was seconds away. When the hall door opened and Arvid leanedagainst the doorframe with a studied expression on his face, the old soldiertwisted around in his chair, ready for battle.
'Andwhere is the animal?' asked Reidar in measured tones.
As ifon cue, the sound of a low, grunting activity came from the hall. A small,black nose appeared in the doorway. It flicked open the door the necessary fewcentimetres, and a small, fat, panting butterfly dog waddled in. It wagged itstail with half its body and tripped along on thin legs, sniffing like a pigletwith a cold. Reidar bent down and pointed a long finger at the creature'ssnout, causing it to shrink back, retract its head and emit a series of sharpyelps, which in turn made Arvid go down on his knees to protect it. 'There,there, Silvie, there, there.' He picked up the animal and made baby sounds ashe rubbed his face against the dog's drooling head. 'She knows you don't likeher,' he said in a reproachful, annoyed voice. Reidar grimaced at him, almostas though he had seen his brother handling tainted meat or a grotesque insect.
'Thisis not going to happen,' Reidar said, to the point.
Theother two exchanged glances.
'Sothere is no more to talk about,' Reidar decided, and stood up.
'We'vebeen preparing this sale for months,' Emmanuel said in a low hiss. 'You can'tjust torpedo it.'
'Ican,' Reidar stated.
'Whatmakes you think that?' Arvid asked pugnaciously.
Reidardid not grace him with a look. He was already on his way towards his coat. 'Nowthat I've done what you requested,' he said, dismissing them. 'I've listened tothe man. I stood it for half an hour. You wanted me to be persuaded. I was notpersuaded. Not in the slightest. The man is a nothing.'
'Karstenagrees with us.'
Reidarflinched and glowered at Arvid, who repeated, 'Karsten agrees with us.'Bringing Reidar's son, Karsten, into the conversation made Reidar even angrierbecause it suggested that the conspiracy he scented was more widespread than hefirst assumed. It suggested that Arvid and Emmanuel, as well as plottingagainst him, had also got Karsten on board – his own son.
'Karsten'sinterests in the matter are of no relevance,' Reidar said, as unmoved asbefore. 'This is not going to happen,' he repeated.
Arvid'sshoulders quivered with annoyance. He sent Emmanuel another look – to gainsupport – before continuing: 'The long and short of this is that Emmanuel and Iare serious. And because he and I know you, and because he and I predicted whatwould happen if we trusted you to give your opinion, I'm afraid it is your turnto lose.'
ReidarFolke Jespersen regarded his brother with the same unmoved expression.
'You'llhave to give in, Reidar. There are three owners. Two against one is an absolutemajority.'
Reidarwas still silent.
Arvidshot a glance to his brother for support: 'The majority decides – whatever youthink.'
'Majority?'Reidar was working his way around the table towards Arvid, who in fearretreated two paces. Both stopped at a signal from Emmanuel, who was in theprocess of getting to his feet. That is to say, he was panting and manoeuvringhis fat body into a semi- upright position, with his stomach resting on theedge of the table. It was a very rare act. Everyone who knew Emmanuel knew whatexertions lay behind such a physical movement; both the brothers were aware ofthe emotional energy that had triggered these contortions. Emmanuel was thusinstantly furnished with his special badge of authority which had helped him onseveral occasions to overcome the younger brother complex he always ran intowith Reidar. Now, with assured hand gestures, he tried to exploit the advantageby calming down his two brothers who stood facing each other like boxers in aring. 'Take it easy, no damage has been done. Kirkenær will stand by his offerand we must stay united…'
Reidartwitched at the sound of Kirkenær's name. 'Whether this man stands by his offeror not is immaterial. It will not happen!' Reidar's retort was like the rattleof a machine-gun, and he added weight to the salvo by smacking the table hardwith the palm of his right hand.
Arvidput the dog down on a chair and said: 'We'll never get a chance like thisagain!'
'Exactly!'Reidar thundered. 'Exactly,' he repeated, approaching his brother. 'And has itnot occurred to you, in fact, that it's a little odd?'
'Odd?'Arvid looked to Emmanuel for help. He had slumped back into his chair,breathing heavily and wheezing after his efforts. Tiny beads of sweat hadbroken out on his forehead, but the look he sent his eldest brother showed hewas not done for yet. 'That's the problem, Reidar,' he said in a low voice.'You're getting too old. You've lost your bite. We're not giving in this! time.You're going to lose.'
'Lostmy bite?'
'Yes,'came a shrill yelp from Arvid. 'You're not what you used to be. You and I andEmmanuel – we are…' Arvid gasped for air as if he didn't dare pronounce theword then and there. But he closed his eyes and steadied himself: '… we'reold. Reidar, you're old. You're the eldest. And you're notbloody immortal!'
Reidargave a start. Silvie, the dog, in the armchair began to bark loudly.
'Silvie!'Arvid shouted, already nervous. 'Don't be frightened, Silvie!'
Reidarglared from Arvid to Emmanuel and back again.
'Thereare two of us. You're on your own. This time Emmanuel and I will complete whatwe started. We're selling the shop and that's that.'
Reidarhad turned pale. He grabbed the edge of the table for support. The three men'sheavy breathing was drowned by the dog's yapping and high-pitched whimpering.