Chapter Text
Agnetha couldn't remember whose idea it was to take in an Au pair. Even years later, when she least expected it, that thought came to her mind and she wondered: Was it Björn's in an attempt to give them more time for themselves, to somehow still save their marriage? That certainly wasn’t what Agnetha thought in the days leading up to the au pairs arrival. How silly she felt looking back on those worries. Maybe it was Björn’s attempt to get out of household chores and to have more time for work? Work, work, work, there was always more work, more important things than his own family life. Maybe it had been Benny's well-meant advice, his way of helping Björn bring a bit of life back into his and Agnetha’s marriage. For all Agnetha knew it could even have been Frida's idea. Even though Frida couldn’t have known about anything that was about to happen, Agnetha still doubted it.
In any case it certainly hadn’t been Agnetha's own idea. All she ever wanted was to be a mother! Even the thought of taking in a foreign stranger to help take care of her child and household chores, made her feel like she was failing at the only thing she ever wanted to do and be. Agnetha could remember fighting about it with Björn, again and again. He didn’t understand the way she felt, he only saw what was in it for himself. More freetime, freetime he would spend working anyway. But the more they fought about it, the more worried Agnetha got that this might actually be the last straw for them. She forced herself to think about what the positive side of having an Au Pair might look like, forced herself to only think about the benefits Linda might have. Still Agnetha was never convinced it was a good idea and she secretly hoped that they would never actually go through with the plan. But if the events of the last, if not the last two years had shown anything, it was that Agnetha would have done almost anything to save her marriage. Slowly but surely the talking and fighting about it wore her down. So, it was decided, they would take in an Au pair.
Björn was surprised when Agnetha told him that she gave the idea another thought, that after weeks of being so vehemently opposed und stubborn she changed her mind. He had just about given up the idea when she came around. But even though Agnetha had very reluctantly agreed Björn knew that it wouldn’t be easy to agree on who they would let into their home and family. Agnetha made the decision very hard. She still felt like she was forced to let someone intrude her home, but she was desperate to keep her family together. One of Agnetha’s hopes was that if she agreed to Björn’s plan under certain conditions, she could set the bar so high no one would ever be able to meet it. You certainly wouldn't just let any stranger do this type of work, she told him, and he couldn’t say no. They would do it this way or no way and Björn knew that. So, he set out to seek the help of an agency with the list of Agnetha's criteria still growing. Every time he called to let the lady from the agency know that there were more criteria the Au Pair had to meet, she said it might take them some time to find a match and it might even be impossible to find someone that matches all of the points, but they certainly would try. And try they did,
Agnetha was the one to pick up the phone when the lady from the agency called back. In all honesty she wasn't expecting them to call back for weeks, so she was more than baffled, when the lady let her know that they had found the perfect match. How had that even been possible? For a second Agnetha thought about declining the offer, saying they didn’t want an Au Pair anymore, but she knew that would lead to one hell of a fight with Björn. She had agreed to taking in an Au Pair under these conditions after all. So instead, she asked who this girl, who this somehow perfect match was. The lady on the other side of the phone described her as an eager girl from Germany, 20 years old, already fluent in Swedish and just finished her training for a job in childcare. Agnetha still hadn’t fully registered what was going on, when the lady said that they would mail the girls portfolio and contract as soon as possible.
And with that it was sealed deal. Björn was ecstatic and Agnetha was still baffled and unsure how to feel about the situation, but regardless, their new Au pair would start in the beginning of the new year.