E’volvo’lution Chapter 11

On the way back I checked out the work-site and was amazed at how much had been done. Anders must have tied up every cement truck in Tallinn as the hard stand had been laid in a big ‘U’ shape. The space where the building would be was left with a path from it to the gate also not poured yet.

This would allow the erectors to put the structures up but still allow the already poured concrete to properly cure. The bases of the verticals were already set in place. I noted that, off to one side of the site, there were footings and a steel frame being built that I hadn’t seen on the plans.

I called my mother and she told me that Halina was being hopeless, mooning about and impatient to come to Tallinn.

I told her that I had been kicked out of yet another bed to let her stay, and we had a laugh. I related about my time at the music show and said that Berget and I may be getting married.

She asked if it would be as Anton or Antonia so I told her that same-sex marriages were OK in Estonia so I could do it under my Estonian passport. We would know who I am but, with all the interest after the show, it wouldn’t be a good idea to out my-self if it could be avoided. I told her that we were getting a double bed in so that she and Dad could stay with us.

Monday I met up with Berget at a drapers store and we wandered the aisles picking sheets, pillowcases, blankets, towels and all the other essentials. We asked for them to be available Tuesday.

We had, we thought, bought everything we needed. If we got everything into place Tuesday, we could set it all up, pack it away, make the beds up and stay the night if we had time to get all of our clothes there as well.

Otherwise our first night together there would be Wednesday. I sometimes stopped what I was doing, and thought about the steps I was taking. This was serious, this was life-changing, and this was what I wanted.

Tuesday, I went to the yard and met up with the two guys and the electric Volvo. I directed them to the first place, the electrical store warehouse, where Berget was waiting for us.

We loaded up the fridge, TV, sound system, washer / dryer and a couple of heaters. We then followed Berget to the furniture warehouse where we loaded the rest of the big stuff. The last port of call was the bedding store and then it was off to the apartment.

The bedding was put into the small spare room and then the guys carried up the beds, wardrobes, chairs and table. It was lunch time by then so we locked up, locked the truck and Berget drove us all to a café where we treated the guys to lunch.

We learned, over lunch, that the two of us we well respected at the yard as we generally made things better. Neither of the guys, or the rest of the drivers, had any idea just how much more business would be coming their way.

On the way back to the apartment Berget took a detour past the new site where cranes were starting to erect the big building framework. The guys were amazed at the size of the place. In the afternoon they carried up the electrical goods and helped us remove everything from the cartons and put the furniture together.

They took all the rubbish to drop in the big bin at the yard and we rewarded them with a kiss on the cheek and some Euros in their pocket.

We made up the main bed and plugged in the electrical goods. We then felt that we had done enough for the day and Berget took me back to Astrids’ house. I helped get the evening meal together and we then attacked the spare room, moving things about to provide space for a bed for Agnis.

Astrid remarked that it wouldn’t be a long stay as Greger was keen to tie the knot and take Halina home. I suggested that she was only staying here for respectability, rather than anything else, and we had a laugh.

That night I slept in the very soft bed for the last time but was not unhappy as I knew I had another very soft bed tomorrow night with my love beside me.

The Wednesday morning saw me up and ready to roll pretty early. I loaded up the car with as much as I could carry and took it to the apartment.

I had a wardrobe and set of drawers for myself so started to hang and store everything. I then went back and loaded up what was left and then stripped the bed and put the sheets into the wash and then vacuumed the room, and made sure I had taken everything.

I took my remaining things back to the apartment and parked next to Berget’s car. Up in the apartment she was putting her own things away and I helped out by going out again and went to a supermarket to get enough supplies to keep us fed for the next few days.

That day we sat at our own table, eating a meal we had cooked in our own kitchen and, after we had tidied up, Berget got a gleam in her eye and pulled me into the bedroom and we ended up, both naked, holding each other close before christening our new bed.

Berget was committed to cleaning her old room out so I went back with her and helped. Her mother had always been a bit stand-offish with me but she had realised just how much we loved each other so had softened a bit. She gave Berget a present of a very nice pair of pillow cases and we both gave her a kiss before we left.

That night we held each other for a long time and just fell asleep together. In the morning I woke with one arm quite dead but said “Good morning, my love” as she opened her eyes.

There was so much love in her look that I started crying out of sheer joy. She kissed my tears away and one thing led to another but, by the time we were side by side again, I had got the feeling in my arm back.

There was just the one bathroom so I went first while Berget put the kettle on. I carried on, in my gown, while she showered and we ate our breakfast before getting dressed.

As it was getting cooler by the day we were both in boots, jeans, a shirt and jumper and we took our leather jackets and helmets with us to get our bikes.

We went to Astrid’s house first and I got mine going and Berget drove my car to the tower block. I parked the bike in the cage and locked the gate with a new padlock. We then went to Bergets’ house where she got her bike and we parked it next to mine in the cage.

We then went into work to tell Greger that we were now settled in and thanked him for his patience. He told us that nothing was too much for us, especially as I was destined to be family after his wedding. Now that was something I hadn’t considered.

He told us that as far as he was concerned the original plan was still in place but we could start thinking seriously about the shop we would have at the shows.

The two of us spent the rest of Thursday and all of Friday working out what we wanted to sell, visiting the publisher of the magazine and getting permission to reproduce some of their pictures as posters.

We picked the centrefold, the E-Volvo-lution picture and looked at some of the ones that didn’t make it into the magazine. We chose another five that I thought were a bit more sophisticated than the cheese-cake pictures they chose for the magazine and they put all the pictures on a USB stick for us.

We also arranged for a photo-shoot when we had the new show-stopper ready which they could also use for the magazine sometime next year. We would then also have some pictures for a new set of posters.

The next stop was a print shop to order two hundred and fifty of each and set up a way I could order more by phone to have them shipped to wherever we would be at the time.

We negotiated a good deal and they gave us a figure we would pay when we picked them up which included writing added to each picture naming it and having the ‘Lundin Transport’ name on the bottom. I told them that we would have a number of other pictures of our new truck when it was finished. It was all a step further forward.

Next week I would be greeting our first four army drivers, the second week would see the other four and then we would be adding the civilian girls with four a week for three weeks; ending up with, hopefully, twenty drivers to take out ten trucks.

If we were getting another five trucks we will have to have another recruitment drive. I hoped that there would be some more girls in the army that we could take.

That weekend, we spent our time settling in at the apartment. We moved things around until we were happy, ate when we felt like it and loved each other, often. It was if a dam had burst for both of us and I hoped that the feelings would not dry up, even though I knew it would slow down a bit.

Monday was our first four girls from the army. Berget and I met with Helena, Katrina, Liisa and Kristina, the four with the most driving experience. We took them through the induction and walked them around the yard, chatting all the way to get them used to us.

We then took them to our stores and issued them with their hi-vis shirts and allowed them to change in the locker room while standing guard for them. I told them that we would be getting a room to ourselves when we moved to the new headquarters but this was what we would have to put up with for the moment.

Helena had been the highest ranked in the army before they all went to the NCO ranks so I said that she should be the leader and their spokeswoman if there was anything that had to be discussed.

We then went to my office where we had a little privacy and talked about what they would be doing. I said, “We are going to have fifteen trucks to work with, all of a new design with extra power. You’ll undergo a week with me and as you get used to driving in traffic, we will put you with our regular drivers doing standard runs.”

“As we get our specially painted trucks you will start to get pick-up and delivery trips that will be your usual work until we are at full speed. Some of you may be picked to be one of the ‘Thor’s Maidens’ show team. This will mean that you may be driving a double trailer to a show, look good and sell posters. I’m sure that those chosen will pick it up as they go.”

“Now, we’re going for another walk. Our first stop will be Bjorn Lundin, who handles the repairs and special interiors; the second will be Greger Lundin who does the painting. I believe he has a truck nearly ready for us to use. Lastly I will introduce you to Gustav, our logistic manager who you will get to know very well as he will be giving you the work-sheets.”

“Once we’ve done that I’ll take two of you on a trip while the other two will start studying the list we have of pick-up and delivery points so you can get an idea of the distances you’ll be travelling. We use GPS a lot in this business and the only thing you’ll need to learn is where to go at the destinations. You’ll be running as two-person teams and you’ll each have a civilian co-driver. When they arrive it will be your job then to get them out on the road and to also gauge their driving skills.”

We took them around to the places I had said and they were all smitten by Bjorn who showed them the initial design of the show trailers.

Greger was a hit and he had the first painted tractor ready for Bjorn to make some interior changes to. He told us that he now had stencils so each one would be quicker, especially the new ones that would already be the light blue.

He said that my father would be coming in tomorrow to pick up a single trailer to take to the Volvo factory. I left Berget and two of the girls with Gustav and then Helena and Katrina followed me to ‘Answer’. It would have to be an untroubled load if we were to complete it in the day.

I drove us to the docks where we loaded up a container of newsprint and Helena then took the wheel with me directing. We drove down to Tartu in good time and delivered to Kroonprint. It was much easier than the first time I had done it as I now could understand the conversation.

We were given an empty container and Katrina took us back to the docks, via a short stop for a late lunch. We were unloaded and given another full container for the trip tomorrow and went back to the yard to knock off after cleaning the truck and putting it away. I was happy that both these girls will be all right.

Tuesday, I did the run with Liisa and Kristina and they too were good drivers. I was unhappy that I had missed seeing my father, but I had work to do.

Wednesday and Thursday we did the same and they were all getting used to being civilian again. Between them and Berget they had put together a list of the most likely pick-ups closer to Tallinn.

Friday all four of them were sent out in to do as many as they could using the GPS while Berget and I prepared for the following week. I had told Marlen, the plainer girl I first interviewed, to come in the Monday as well as I wanted to get her used to driving the Globetrotter.

Bjorn had finished the few things he had needed to do on the tractor we already had; fitting the new CB and the new hidden military radio as well as giving the interior a light blue paint job.

Monday I put ‘Answer’ and the new drivers in the hands of the first four and told Helena to do the Tartu run for the four days so that everyone got at least two trips in.

Berget did the induction for the new four in double quick time and then they were off. I took Marlen under my wing and explained to her that she would be part of the core group who would take the show rigs around Europe and we went out in the repainted tractor to pick up a trailer and make a delivery.

She was a good driver so the next day we did a run to the docks with a double container trailer, picked up two containers and delivered to a factory out by the airport.

The new four army girls were Anna, Leena, Marika and Karmen and, by the end of the week, were filling in with our other drivers, either as a co-driver on longer trips, or else taking trucks out themselves.

It was going to hurt our casuals in the short term but there would be plenty of work once the rest of the fleet was delivered. Friday of that second week we got the word that our new purchases were ready to be picked up. I rang the number I had been given and told them I had nine other girls plus Ludvig – who had been told by Gustav how much fun could be had.

They told me to fly in to Stockholm on Sunday and that we would be picked up. They said to make sure the new girls that were already military had their casual uniform. I made the flight arrangements and told the others that they needed to be at the airport Sunday morning with their kit and a few casual clothes and to bring something warm to put on.

The Swedish contact had said that we would be two days playing in the slush and that we would be delivered to the factory on Wednesday so I booked three truck spaces on the ferry to arrive back in Tallinn on Friday morning.

It was slowly coming together. Berget would be getting the first of the civilian drivers up to speed while we were away. Greger had allocated us one of the best guys to take them out, one at a time, and evaluate them before we sent them out as a co-driver.

By the end of next week we should have four ‘Maidens’ to work with, no, make that three as one would be undergoing transformation in the workshops.

That Sunday morning Berget took me to the airport and kissed me before I went into the terminal. I met up with the others and we flew to Stockholm.

Marlen was wide-eyed when we were met by a uniformed Swedish Army officer who led us out to a plain bus and we were driven to an army camp outside the city. We were sent to a change room where the army girls changed into the Estonian army kit and I put on my white Swedish outfit.

Helena looked me up and down, “Last time I saw you in uniform you were an officer in the Estonian army, what the hell is going on?”

I told her, that unlike her true membership of the army, my own service was purely ceremonial to look like I fitted. Marlen and Ludvig were given camo pants, boots and jackets.

We were given a good lunch and then the VTOL landed and we were taken out and loaded up, along with our luggage.

Ludvig was sitting next to me, “When Gustav said that the army flew you lot around I found it hard to believe, but now I’m just going to go with the flow. This is fun!”

When we landed again it was a lot cooler and a bit whiter than the last time. We were taken to the main building where we were given our rooms. Marlen and Ludvig were given a set of fatigues each in white that looked good on her but not so hot on him.

In the late afternoon we were taken to a room with simulators in and the others were all put through laps of the circuit until they could do it without rolling over or getting bogged. It made me realise just how much trust they had put in the three of us last time.

By dinner time it was Marlen and Helena on the best times and after dinner we spent the evening in the mess with the other troopers. Next morning the first three went out to meet the real thing and the rest of us followed their progress on the screens.

By the end of the day all ten drivers had done three sets of the three circuits; some of which were, to me, flawless. The CO sat beside me and commented on how well the Estonian army trained their drivers.

That evening, at dinner he stood up, “When Antonia was here last, she set a record for completing the three circuits. As an appreciation of her skill we presented her with the uniform she has been wearing today, and, I must say, makes it look good. I had a bet with my chief instructor who said that she would bring a very competent group with her and I told him that if anyone got inside a hundred and twenty percent of her time I would donate a uniform in recognition of their skill.”

“I can now tell you that you all have truly earned the uniform, even if you didn’t beat her time. To show you what you were up against, I’ll show you the video taken on that day.”

The big screen on the wall came to life and we sat and watched while I did my three laps with him. When I saw where I was going with that truck I was shocked. It hadn’t sunk in on the day as I‘d been too busy.

The others were taken to the store where they were issued with the uniform and, when they came back everyone had big grins on their faces, especially Marlen. The army girls all had their rank designation on the shoulder, over the Arctic Transport patch while Marlen and Ludvig only had the patch.

The whole mess applauded as they came in and then we had a few drinks. The following morning we were all given a ride in a tracked snow vehicle and the better drivers of us took the controls for short sections. It was very different driving and a lot of fun as well.

After lunch we were all changed back into our civilian clothing and the VTOL picked us up and flew us to Gothenburg where a plain bus took us to the hotel we would be staying overnight.

Next morning we took taxis to the factory where we were treated like the VIP’s we are and shown our new blue babies. With mag wheels, driving lights and a very comfortable driving seat they were a bit different to the ones we had played with earlier in the week.

The inside was plain with two other seats across the front but nothing in the rear of the cab as Bjorn would be doing that part. There was a standard CB and the latest GPS / management screen.

One of them had the trailer hooked on that my father had delivered. It contained spare engines and gearboxes, suspension components and transfer boxes. Anders was not messing about!

It was about four and a half hours drive to Stockholm so the nine drivers split into three groups and took a truck each. The luggage was put into the back of the trailer. I had given them fuel cards and told them how to get to the ferry berth.

They loaded up the destination on the GPS and then they were off. Ludvig and I took a taxi to the airport where we were booked on a flight directly back to Tallinn where Berget would be waiting to pick us up. I was eating a nice meal that evening and hoped the girls were enjoying their voyage.

Friday, when the ferry arrived, I was standing with Berget and Anders waiting for the unloading.

With him there the customs went smoothly and we followed the three trucks back to the yard. Helena told me that the drive to the ferry had been very good, the softer ride was appreciated, they had all had a turn driving and most of them had driven with the trailer.

They were all sent home for the weekend and then the other drivers all had an inspection before one of the trucks went into Bjorns’ workshop for its transformation.

Marianne Gregory © 2022