10
LATER THAT EVENING, after Leifur had left, Astrid and Gudrun were sitting with Iris and Rachel at one end of the table they’d all been sharing.
Brun, perhaps missing his partner, Fliss, who was in England visiting some university open days with her daughter, had started an impromptu singalong with his guitar at the other side of the bar, which everyone was enjoying.
‘I feel bad that we haven’t gone over there,’ said Iris, looking over to the small stage where Brun and the other men were gathered.
‘It’s fine,’ Rachel said with a wave of her hand. ‘We don’t want to lose the table.’
‘Good point,’ said Gudrun.
‘I still can’t believe you said that to Leifur,’ Astrid said.
‘What did she say?’ Iris asked.
‘She told him I said he’d been grumpy this morning when we met up for the boat trip.’
‘You did say that.’
‘I thought you’d realise it was between us.’
Gudrun shrugged. ‘Maybe I’ve forgotten how to be a sister. It’s been a while.’
It had been a while. Too long. And perhaps she’d taken it for granted that she could come and go from Gudrun’s life as she pleased, expecting things to be exactly as she’d left them when she came back.
‘I’m sorry. He was grumpy this morning but I feel awkward that he knows I told you that because he did turn it around. I told you that too.’
‘Oh, this is like the time when Gudrun got cross with me because my ex-boyfriend turned up when Jonas and I had just got together,’ said Rachel.
‘I wasn’t cross!’
‘You were. But I know you were being protective of Jonas,’ Rachel said. ‘And as soon as you knew I wanted to be with him and not Adam, it was fine. She’s just worried Leifur’s going to break your heart.’
Gudrun smiled at Rachel, and Astrid felt a rush of love for her sister.
‘You don’t need to worry, Gudrun. We’re not in heart-breaking territory at all.’
‘Really?’ Iris said. ‘You’re not into him?’
‘No, I’m not going to be here that long. It’s a stopgap before I start the next job,’ Astrid said.
‘Astrid, that’s different from not being into him,’ Rachel said, raising an eyebrow.
She couldn’t deny that there was something between her and Leifur.
They had bonded over the fact that they were both about to run whale-watching tours — something neither of them had expected to be doing.
It was so clichéd to fall for someone you’re working with, but when she’d met him on the shore by his house, she hadn’t known who he was and there had been something. A spark of attraction, at least.
‘But he’s gorgeous,’ Iris said, her eyes widening. ‘And he might be your soulmate or something. Perhaps you should give it a chance.’
‘You sound more like Gudrun than Gudrun,’ Rachel said, laughing.
‘Since Iris realised I was right about her and Siggi,’ Gudrun said with a grin. ‘If you like Leifur, you shouldn’t worry about what I think.’
‘It seems pointless even to think about anything like that with him when I could be leaving soon.’
‘Have you applied for any jobs yet?’ Gudrun asked.
Astrid glared at her sister. She knew she hadn’t applied for anything other than the Costa Rica job she had no chance of getting.
‘I’m just saying, you could be here for longer than you think.’
‘I didn’t think I was going to stay,’ Iris said.
‘Neither did I,’ said Rachel.
Astrid groaned. ‘Fine. I like Leifur, but I don’t know if he likes me. He didn’t seem that pleased to see me this morning, even though when we saw each other yesterday, it was… nice.’
‘When did you see him yesterday? I thought you two met for the first time today?’ Gudrun said.
‘I took the boat out to Hafnarfjoreur and he was on the shore. We spoke to each other.’
‘About what?’
‘Whales and stuff.’
Rachel laughed. ‘Astrid. I know you haven’t known us for very long, but we’re going to need more information.’
‘About what?’
‘All of this with you and Leifur.’
‘There’s nothing between me and Leifur,’ Astrid said, thinking that she might have to leave rather than be interrogated about someone she’d waved to once, spoken to for a minute and spent half a day with for work.
She didn’t have much to go on, and she wasn’t about to dissect all of those encounters with Gudrun, Rachel and Iris.
She liked them, but she didn’t know them well enough yet.
‘Fair enough,’ Iris said. ‘I mean, you need to get to know him. Working on the boat together will help.’
‘Jonas likes him but says he’s had a tough few months,’ said Rachel. ‘Maybe that’s why he wasn’t in the best mood this morning. I expect it’s hard for him changing career when it wasn’t something he really wanted.’
‘That’s it exactly,’ said Astrid. ‘Which is why he’s probably not looking for romance either.’
‘So it went okay with Leifur yesterday?’ Jonas asked the next morning. Astrid had dropped into the office to discuss the details of her temporary job.
‘Yes. We had a good time.’
‘He said the same.’ Jonas smiled. ‘That’s a good start. He also said that your knowledge is incredible. With that in mind, I wondered if I could make you an offer to tempt you to stay for the whole summer.’
‘The whole summer?’
‘I know it wasn’t your plan, but if we could have you for the first season, it gives us a solid start. It would help us build a great reputation, and it gives us more time to find someone else who can step in when you leave.’
Jonas jotted a figure down on a piece of paper and pushed it over to Astrid. It was an extraordinary amount.
‘This is an annual salary?’
‘No, this would be for four months’ work. Now until the end of August.’
Astrid tried to be cool, but it was difficult when, even if that had been an annual salary, it was more than she had earned in Norway in a year. Probably more than she could hope to earn at this point in her career, even if she got a new job.
‘It’s generous. More than the going rate for a marine biologist.’
‘You’re not just a marine biologist. You’re also local, you have experience on boats and you get on with Leifur.’
‘Leifur would be fine with anyone.’
Jonas shook his head. ‘Not true. When we first spoke, he was against having anyone else on the boat.’
At least that explained his reaction yesterday. ‘He can’t manage a tour alone. They had a couple of people besides the captain on the tour yesterday.’
‘We couldn’t allow it purely for safety reasons, but I didn’t think that would wash with Leifur, so I went with the idea that he needed someone to entertain the guests while he’s driving the boat.
You did that yesterday. I’ll be honest, Astrid.
We need to be up and running in the next few weeks to make the investment pay off, and I’m not sure I’m going to find anyone else before then who Leifur’s going to accept.
Unless you know another local marine biologist with some boat experience? ’
Astrid smiled. It felt good to be valued.
Not only financially, although that felt good too, but knowing that Leifur enjoyed their trip and hadn’t objected to her monologue about the whales, that he’d gone from not wanting anyone else on his boat to accepting her as a colleague, touched her.
She knew the boat meant a lot to him, and she was looking forward to seeing it with him tomorrow.
She could imagine it was a huge step for him to invite someone onto his boat.
‘I don’t. And I’d love to accept the job.’ What were four months in the grand scheme of things? It wasn’t as if it was a complete pivot; it was using her expertise for something different, but using it nevertheless. Keeping her hand in.
‘That’s great news,’ said Jonas, shaking her hand and then pulling her towards him to give her a brief hug. ‘Can I tell Leifur? ’
‘Can I? He’s taking me out on the boat tomorrow.’
‘He is?’ Jonas leant against the desk and crossed his arms, a smile on his face. ‘Of course. You tell him.’
‘It’s not anything like that.’ Why did everyone jump to the same conclusion?
‘Okay. I’m just pleased that you’re getting on well enough that he’s taking you out on the boat.’
‘He knows I like being out on the water, and I’m interested to see what his boat’s like.’ Astrid heard the defensive tone in her voice and immediately regretted it since Jonas had been so generous. ‘My sister is giving me a hard time about Leifur, that’s all. Sorry.’
Jonas shrugged. ‘It is no one’s business but yours. But for what it’s worth, your sister and her friends only want to see you happy.’
‘I am happy,’ Astrid said, plastering a smile on her face. ‘Thanks, Jonas. I’ll probably see you at the bar tomorrow night?’
‘I expect so. Happy to have you on board.’
She laughed.
Jonas grinned. ‘The pun was unintentional.’
‘It was funny,’ she shrugged.
Astrid left the office, and she was happy. Not because of Leifur and not because of the job, but because at least now she had a reason to be here. She belonged here, even if it was just for the summer.
She headed for Te & Kaffi and treated herself to a flat white and a sticky cinnamon bun.
The coffee was delicious, and as she sipped it, she had a look at what rentals were available.
It hardly seemed worth moving into somewhere for a few months, and Gudrun’s was more than comfortable, but it’d be nice to come and go as she pleased, especially once she started working.
There were a couple of possibilities, so she emailed the agents and asked for viewings.
Astrid had never chosen anywhere to live herself.
It was an exciting, if temporary, prospect.
Almost immediately, she had a phone call from an agent who had just shown one apartment she liked to someone else, but they had passed on it, and was Astrid available to view it now?
The agent explained that it was in a great area and would be snapped up, so it was a great opportunity.
Astrid finished the bun in three bites, gulped the rest of her coffee down and headed for Miestraeti, which was less than a five-minute walk away.
The apartment was in a three-storey building and took up the whole of the middle floor. It was a traditional wooden building, with ornate details on the edges of the roof and wooden balconies that ran up one side, overhanging each other.
The agent came to the front door and let Astrid in. ‘It’s upstairs,’ she said. ‘I believe there is a young couple who live downstairs and a single woman in the roof apartment. The owner is moving overseas for six months, so it is a fixed six-month let.’
‘Six months is perfect for me,’ Astrid said, a sense of deep contentment settling over her as she stepped into the apartment and was enveloped within its calming walls.
The whole place was white, but all the walls were lined with wooden cladding, which gave the white some texture and warmth.
With dark wooden floors, it was very chic, and Astrid could imagine herself padding around there, cooking in the state-of-the-art kitchen or relaxing in the pristine white bathroom that had a beautiful deep bathtub.
The high ceilings and large windows were unusual in more modern buildings, but Astrid loved the period feel of the place.
‘Do you want to take it?’
She’d never made such an impulsive decision in her life, but it was what she wanted, and she wasn’t going to let it pass her by. After all, in six months she could find herself working somewhere where she’d never be able to live in a beautiful place like this.
‘Yes, I’ll take it,’ she said, a rush of adrenaline making her feel as if she had just won a hundred million krona instead of forking out thousands of krona on rent. ‘How soon can I move in?’