Back to basics

Back to basics

Soof has finally set some clear boundaries with her ex. Including the rule that there will be no sex under their shared roof. Hansje makes the acquaintance of Mick, a freelancer who’s about to open a new shop, just around the corner. Hansje thinks he might be a likely candidate for her daughter. Soof finds Josien on her doorstep, who’s there to meet Kasper. However, he’s still asleep, so the ladies decide to go for coffee. At a cafe, because Soof’s coffee-maker has given up the ghost. Their friendship deepens.

In addition to her match-making, Hansje comes up with another plan: a CookBox, containing a recipe card and all the pre-measured ingredients, delivered straight to people’s doors by Hansje herself, on her moped. Soof is opposed, is preoccupied with other things. Like butchering a goose. For tomorrow’s menu.

Sasha refuses to get out of bed, says she’s ill. Soof does not quite believe her. As it is ‘her’ week, she makes an appointment with her GP. Mick drops by to return a scarf that Hansje had ‘accidentally’ left behind in his shop. He asks Soof out, but she politely declines. She feels the time is not right. Josien repairs Soof’s broken coffee machine and has a chat with Kasper in the kitchen. They realise they share a love for tools. When Sasha sees her father with Josien, she slips away upstairs.

Joy and Gerrit have named the goose, despite Soof’s admonitions not to, as she refuses to get attached to the creature. Josien comes by in the evening to collect some tools. Soof persuades her to stay for a glass of wine. Kasper spots Josien’s car and drops in to show her an antique wrench. They exchange glances and sparks fly. Soof is oblivious. The next day, Soof spots Mick driving by, they smile at each other. Kasper and Josien have agreed to meet at a DIY store, where Kasper desperately wants to kiss her. But Josien keeps her distance, because of her friendship with Soof. Just when, back home, Soof is about to leave to take Sasha to her doctor’s appointment, Kasper and Josien walk in together. The tension is tangible, and Soof is finally alerted to what is going on. She says as much, which is painful. Uncomfortable.

At the surgery, Sasha is reluctant to open up. Soof, on the other hand, spills her guts about what it is like to watch one’s friend hook up with one’s ex. When her GP suggests she find some help, Soof suddenly realises how sad this situation really is and walks Sasha out of there. Who then finally comes clean about what’s going on. She’s quit her studies, without consulting her parents. Soof is completely taken aback and asks why she has not bothered to inform her and Kasper. Sasha confronts her with her lack of attention, when a car pulls up and Jim steps out. He walks over to Soof, they are delighted to see each other. Sasha makes to cycle off. Soof cuts her conversation with Jim short to catch up with her daughter. Tells her she’s proud of her. Sasha asks if Soof will please refrain from telling Kasper for the time being. She wants to tell him herself.

It is time to butcher the goose. Now. No. Now. No. The wrong knife. Joy and Gerrit look on. While Soof grabs another knife, Patricia gets away and makes for the shed. Where Soof discovers that she has, in fact, laid an egg. And one can’t kill a mum, that’s simply wrong. Soof is secretly relieved, but she also feels she’s being weak. She goes out for some air and spots Josien and Kasper, who are about to go out for dinner. Soof puts on a brave face and wishes them a nice evening, only to make her way over the Mick and ask him out after all. He accepts. Soof quickly puts on some makeup, while Hansje plies her with some unwanted erotic advice. Soof is looking forward to going out, until she sees his two kids in his car. What a deception! At the restaurant, Soof fails to hit it off with Mick’s kids. And to make matters worse, she sees Kasper and Josien in a romantic get-together four tables down. She hides in the toilets, but runs into Kasper. He wants to go back on their rule of ‘no sex under the same roof”. Soof puts on a brave face, almost encouraging him. All the while, she feels very much alone. Beaten. Back home, she’s just about to drown her sorrows in a bottle of wine, when Josien walks in. Everything is so complicated. Soof is sweet, tempers Josien’s feelings of guilt, and gives her the bottle of wine to take upstairs. Only Patricia remains to keep her company, to whom she professes her doubts whether ‘back to basics’ is something that suits her at all. Soof is much better suited to cooking her own dishes, just as she always has. That’s where her talent lies.