E’volvo’lution Chapter 14

The six show girls for Sunday were me, Elizabeth, Katrina, Eliise, Catlin and Karmen. Joanna was helping Halina by selling posters at ‘Answer’ and Marlen was with Ezuli selling posters and tunics beside ‘Maidens’.

Berget was told to just take it easy today; we didn’t want her being taken off to give birth just yet.

When we got back to the show-ground, Marlen parked the people mover behind the rear trailer so we could get out and move privately behind the rig. I found Bjorn in the front trailer with the master computer pulled out of the rack running through some changes he had made.

He told me that he had added a few extra thunder rolls and he had loved the sheet-lightning effect so much there were a few more of those as well.

He said, “I could hear you explaining to Elizabeth when you were on the phone earlier and it made me think about some little wrinkles that I ran past the film guys. I think you’re going to love this evening when you get to see the film because most of the changes are after you roll out of sight.”

The organisers had put out droppers with bunting, running from the back of our people mover to link up with the bunting in front of the fireworks.

The camera-man turned up with a few other guys carrying boxes and they proceeded to put out a few small cameras. One would have a close-up view of Thor when he raised the hammer and another, on the edge of our area, which, he said was a wide-angle view of the show.

He would be back in the crowd with his own camera, filming different bits as it went on. As he was telling us this, the other guys were pushing spiked canisters into the ground in a line between the rig and the bunting, all the way to the fireworks.

I pointed to them, raised an eyebrow and he laughed and said “Smoke” which Elizabeth interpreted.

They then set out a number of floodlights, one of which I wondered about as it was nearer the fireworks and pointed towards the crowd. I supposed that they knew what they were doing.

When they finished they all came over to me in my skimpy outfit, gave me a hug and said ‘Thank You’ or ‘Danke’. The camera-man had a long conversation with Elizabeth. After he had left, she told me that he had said that last night was all over the social media, as there must have been a few hundred filming it on their phones. She said that he had estimated it to have had over a million hits by now.

The crowd was now coming in and we were inundated with guys and girls. A lot of girls were wearing tunics that they had bought on Saturday and we had sold out by mid-afternoon.

We rotated our breaks and were looked after by Berget inside the trailer with hot drinks and cakes that she had organised from one of the food trucks.

I took a wander over to where Greger and Halina held sway and stood off at a distance watching Halina ham it up with the punters in front of the painting. It struck me that Greger was now living his dream, in front of his truck alongside the wife who matched his vision.

Mid-afternoon Thor arrived with his retinue. The dresser took the big bag into the rear trailer and the man himself started signing posters, a move that accelerated our sales to the point where Bjorn and I had to help out with the rush of paying customers.

We ran out of all our stock by five so packed up the chairs and put the tables to one side to be picked up later. All six of us showgirls joined our star in the main eating hall where we were able to have a decent meal, surrounded by adoring fans snapping away on their phones.

I had been the centre of some attention before but this was so much again. We were joined by Greger, Halina and Joanna who had also run out of stock so had locked up the truck for the day.

When we got back to ‘Maidens’ there were already people sitting on blankets in front of the trailers and I saw several cameras on tripods. The star wandered among them signing madly for a while and then made his escape to go to the trailer dressing room.

The rest of us mingled and chatted. One particularly keen Volvo fan collared me and pointed to the tractor, saying “Not standard?”

He was speaking German so I answered, “No, it’s a D16 on a modified chassis with two speed gearbox and six driven wheels.” He seemed amazed that I could tell him that and said so.

I told him that me, and every girl in our group, drove these for a living. At that he said “Like Antonia?” So I told him I was Antonia and he hugged me and pulled out about twenty posters from his pack for me to sign. I had to laugh when I saw that Halina had already signed one as herself.

As the light dimmed I went and rounded up our show group to go and freshen up in the back trailer. Berget had closed up the store and had the controller and told me that Bjorn had told her to stand next to him to start the show.

She said it was like being a celebrity launching a ship. We all got ourselves ready, checked our make-up and waited for the call once the light was right. I could hear the hubbub of the crowd growing and someone saying stuff in German.

The crowd roared like a giant beast and I started to get butterflies. Kristina, who had done it last night, saw me wilting and told me to take big breaths. The other girls said it was a breeze.

Finally, the radio crackled and Bjorn asked if we were ready and when we said yes he said “OK, this is it.”

I heard the first peal of thunder and we got down from the trailer and lined up with me being pushed to the front. As I saw the people mover light up from the sheet lightning effect the radio said “Go now” and I led our group out from behind the truck to see a sea of faces looking at us.

The flashing of camera lights was almost bewildering as we walked to our spots in front of the pictures with the floodlights now lighting us up. All the while there were flashes and thunder rolls, Bjorn had really gone over the top.

As the voice called “Thor” the star went to the hammer and waited until the next thunderous call before picking it up and hitting the side of the trailer, so starting the light show.

I was concentrating so hard I hardly noticed the crowd now, the feeling of performance was intoxicating. As the light show progressed and the rumble get louder I felt the others sidle closer to me and felt Thors’ hand on my shoulder as he stood behind us.

Elizabeth counted down from five and at ”go” the sudden darkness from the lights going out coincided with the crash of the flash-bangs and the flash of the bright lights. This was the signal for us to drop and roll under the canvas.

When we got back to our feet Thor was heading towards the front of the rig with the hammer so we rushed to the back and crept out to see the rest of the changes Bjorn had made.

The smoke canisters had all been set off and there was now a curtain of smoke hiding the truck and the fireworks. All of a sudden there was a light as the floodlight pointing at the crowd switched on with Thor standing in silhouette among the smoke with the hammer raised.

The crowd, who had been cheering the end of the show, gasped as our light-bar rippled with the sheet lightning effect again and, after the rumble of thunder the voice called “Thor’ again and the hammer was brought down hard enough to split it.

As it hit the ground there was a thunder of projectile launchers, the floodlight went out, the blast of thunderclap fireworks and the display was off and running. Marlen called us back to the people mover and we piled in along with a Thor who was smiling fit to bust and still carrying a now split hammer.

She drove us back to the hotel and it was funny to see the looks on the faces of the staff as Thor and his Maidens walked in. He was taken over by one of his people and the rest of us went to our rooms to change.

I was surprised to see an evening gown laid out on the bed with the underwear and a note saying “Wear this” signed by Anders. I had a long hot shower and dressed.

I was finishing my make-up when there was a knock on the door. I called to come in and saw, in the mirror, Halina in a long dress as well, followed by Berget who came in and started to take off her maternity dress to put on another long gown that had also been on the bed.

Halina was full of her day in the spotlight and I could tell that she was now embracing the Lundin motto “Deliver intact and on time” When we had finished she fell silent and then gave us both hugs and air-kisses, “Thank you Antonia, you’re the best sister I could have had and you’re also brilliant at what you do.”

“Today I realised what it is to be part of this wonderful family; a family which I will be adding to in about seven months. I hope I can live up to the motto.” We congratulated her and it was hugs all round before we went down to a large private room to join the others.

The one thing I had missed while getting ready for the show was the major awards. They had given out a lot the night before but the last three were given out tonight; this being the bit of German I had vaguely heard.

I found out that there was ‘Best Big Rig of the show’, ‘Best Artwork’ and the ‘Most Popular Exhibit.’ All three trophies were sitting on the table that was surrounded by smiling Lundins, their employees, as well as the whole film group, including the couple that had come down from Tallinn.

I went over to Bjorn and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek, “Thank you, Bjorn, those extra bits just made tonight fabulous.”

Anders said, loudly, “Today, my friends, you were all fabulous. I said during the opening ceremony that every speech starts with, ‘It gives me great pleasure,’ and I must say that just those words tonight are all I need to say.”

Our star stood up and said something and smiled a lot and the only word I caught was cobbers. The only similar phrase I had heard before in English contained ‘bunch of old cobblers’ which had been translated as a lot of rubbish. I asked Bjorn how we were all rubbish, and he laughed and told me that cobber was an Australian way of saying friend.

We were all now considered to be friends who would be welcome at his home if we ever went to Australia. That was nice, maybe NATO could organise a delivery there.

The camera-man came over to me and said something which Bjorn translated. He was complimenting me in my vision so I told him that it was his skills that made it work and, after Bjorn had relayed that the guy gave me a hug and a big kiss; then stepping back and announcing loudly that I was “Bonza”.

Bjorn laughed, “Wonderful, beautiful, and everything a man could want”. Now that was a fair bit of information carried in one word. The Germans could do it but they usually used about twenty or thirty letters to say something complicated and here was this guy saying all of that in just five letters.

Needless to say there were toasts and much merriment but I could see Berget wilting again so I went over to Anders and told him that I was taking Berget up to our room as it was a long drive tomorrow.

He said, “Not for four of you, I’ve booked you on a direct flight out of Linz late morning. Four of the drivers that flew in for the show will be taking the two trucks home for us. No, you and the others have put too much into this weekend to be back on the road. Goodnight to you both and I thank you and the whole team from the bottom of my heart.”

I gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek and pulled Berget out of the chair she was slowly sinking into, waved at the crowd and we went to bed.

Next morning we took it easy and had long showers before I dressed in jeans, boots and colourful top, Berget in the now familiar maternity dress. We did our faces and went down for breakfast.

We were, of course, the first ones there and the others started wandering in as we were eating; most just opting for toast and coffee. Eventually, Marlen took the crew out to the showground to prepare both trucks for the drive home and then Catlin came back with Marlen and Elizabeth, dropping them off at the hotel before returning to ‘Maidens’ to load up the people mover and start the run back to Tallinn.

I was thinking through all the things we needed to do before our next show in August. Actually, I realised, make that two shows as we had applied for places in the Truckfest UK in Peterborough and there was Tallinn coming around just a week later.

That made me stop and think; Tallinn Truck Show and my first outing as Antonia. How much could one year give you? Before then we had a month off and I needed to just get on with my work.

Now, we had been sending our new civilian girls off to the Transport Division base in groups of four, to be given the basics of army life and issued with their uniforms and had put everyone through that.

The one thing we hadn’t done was organise time in the special NATO base that taught advanced driving. While I was thinking of it I pulled out the card Felix had given me and rang the number.

When I was put through to the man I wanted to speak to he chuckled and told me he had just viewed a clip on you-tube and no longer wondered why I hadn’t rung him before.

I told him that we had been busy and he then told me that he wanted to fit in my drivers for five-day courses, five a week until we were completed and that I was certainly included in that number as he was keen to see Sweden’s best army driver in the flesh, so to speak. He wanted to start in a week and gave me a number to ring to arrange pick-up.

While I sat I pulled out a note-book and listed all of the drivers in the order I wanted them to go, Helena and our first army girls in the first lots. I put myself into the final group, which would be the week after the Tallinn show.

That done I rang Gustav and told him that we needed to make sure the girls would be available in the weeks needed and he told me it would be done.

“Anything for a miracle maker” he said.

I queried that and he told me that he had watched the local news last night. They had a clip that someone had sent in of our Saturday show. I told him if he thought that was good, to wait until he saw the Sunday one. Then we were packed and crammed into the Lundin people mover and on our way to Linz airport.

The trip home was certainly shorter than the trip down. I sat between Berget and Halina and they both held my hands as we chatted. Halina was now much easier to get on with.

I thought that her sudden divorce may have affected her and it was now lifting from her shoulders. Maybe this was the reason she had been separated from Agnis since she had been here, too many memories of her first husband.

I told her that I had watched her by the ‘Answer’ on Sunday for a while and that she was a natural.

“Actually Greger said that Tallinn will be the last time it will be shown. I think he’s a little afraid to tell you, seeing your connection with it.”

I laughed and told her that I had the same idea as it had now had the showing it was intended for originally.

At Tallinn we all said cheerio and I grabbed a taxi to take us home. My car was at the yard, left under cover when we picked up ‘Answer’.

We unpacked and had a long shower and went to bed until the following morning when we woke refreshed and ready. I rang the office and Helena answered so I asked what was happening.

“Nothing this week for you two. The boss wants you both to take a week off and recover. Thank you, by the way, for setting up the trips to the training track.”

I told her that they needed names and would give her a pick-up point when she rang and gave her the number to ring. I wished her a good trip and turned to Berget as she stood beside me with fluid running down her legs.

I gave her a towel to wipe herself, went into the bedroom for the grab and go bag and we were downstairs and into her car. It was a long day for both of us but eventually Melody Elspeth Berg was born, about two weeks early.

Maybe it was the ride to Austria in a bouncy seat that did it. I rang my mother with the news and then Berget’s mother, who was in the hospital within the hour, fussing over her grandchild.

I rang the office again and Helena congratulated us and told me she would get my car delivered to the block on Wednesday. We always left the keys with any vehicle parked in the yard in case they needed to be moved.

That evening Berget was in a ward with tiny Melody in a special crib beside her. I could hardly stop crying with joy.

There was a TV running on the wall opposite the bed, and suddenly Berget said “Look, at the TV, turn it up, quick!”

The picture was taken from a helicopter flying alongside the main road from Tartu and, there on the screen, our two trucks were coming home. When I turned it up the announcer was raving on about the award-winning trucks from the local Lundin Transport coming home in triumph.

The camera zoomed to the driver window of ‘Answer’ and there, waving and smiling, was a Norwegian blonde Marika. They moved to ‘Maidens’ and there was Karmen at the wheel.

The announcer then said, “Sunday we showed you a clip sent to us from a viewer. It was from the Saturday evening show and was very spectacular. Today we received a film clip from one of our friends in the local film industry. This is the sound and vision from Sunday night, taken by professional camera-men and is a lot longer as it also shows the fireworks display. We are shifting the next show so you can see just what the Maidens achieved that gave them every big award that night. Sit back, turn the sound up and enjoy.”

At that we had a couple of nurses watching with us and one turned the sound up a bit. I sat next to Berget holding her hand and watched the whole thing, filmed as good as a full length movie, with sound.

They had edited it magnificently and when we walked out from behind the trailer one of the nurses gasped, “Is that you in front?” and I nodded, unable to speak.

The show went through to the end of the firework display that ran for around thirty minutes. At the end of it word had spread through the hospital that Antonia, the leader of Thor’s Maidens, was in the building and had – only two days previously – been in Austria with the wonderful Thor himself.

Berget was not short of visitors during the whole time she was there and came home a few days later, after being thoroughly checked over. I had prepared the nursery with a fresh paint job that I hadn’t been able to fit in before.

Halina and Greger had visited me and then took me out for a meal with Erik, Astrid and Agnis, who was now being cared for and cuddled by Halina. Anders rang and told me that I had all the time in the world to be sure that I came back to work happy.

I had been working for the company now for just on a year so I had holidays owed. My team had everything running smoothly and Bjorn was busy preparing the two rigs for the shows in August.

We would only be running the standard light show in the UK but a local star had asked if he could play Thor in Tallinn. He was a big enough name here to make it work so the original show would be used, with, of course, a new hammer.

The old one was put into a case in Anders’ office, alongside a signed Thor picture.

My office ended up with a poster of ‘Maidens’ signed by the star and all the girls that were there. Next to it was the centrefold poster, signed by both Halina and me. Whoever sat in this chair in the future would be able to see how we started.

Marianne Gregory © 2022