16
THE HOUSEWARMING WAS a welcome relief from working on Brimfaxi every day.
Not that she wasn’t enjoying it, but there were limits to what she could do without going over and over the same things.
Leifur had more to do on the practical side of things, whereas she was helping with purchasing everything they needed, from weatherproof suits for the guests, to sick bags, to supplies for the galley.
It was the best way to get to know the vessel though, and by the end of the week, she knew what Leifur was referring to when he said things like the “foredeck port-side cleat” and was pleased that her limited experience of working on research vessels had stood her in good stead.
When she’d left the apartment this morning, she’d met the woman from upstairs. She was in her fifties, Astrid guessed.
She introduced herself. ‘I’ve taken on the apartment in the middle for six months.’
‘Nice to meet you. I’m Ingibjorg. Are you from Reykjavik?’
‘Yes, although I’ve only been back a few weeks. I’ve been living in Norway for the past few years. I’m having a get-together tonight at my place, if you’d like to come? Sol from downstairs and her partner are coming, and my sister and some friends from work. ’
‘That sounds great. What sort of time?’
‘Around seven.’
Astrid was pleased that she’d run with Gudrun’s idea of having a party. It was nice to know her neighbours, and it was a good excuse to invite Leifur over.
She called Gudrun and asked her to extend the invitation to everyone.
‘Brilliant. I’m pretty sure Jonas, Rachel, Siggi and Iris will be up for it. The others aren’t around at the moment.’
Jonas was her boss, and Leifur’s, so it was good he and Rachel could come, and after meeting Iris briefly at the bar, they had enough in common for Astrid to feel like she could easily be a friend if they had the time to get to know one another.
‘Looking forward to the party?’ Leifur asked her as they sat on deck eating their lunch together. It wasn’t warm, but it wasn’t raining, and they’d taken to sitting outside rather than in the galley whenever they could since so much of the time they were working below deck.
‘Yes. I only met my upstairs neighbour this morning for the first time, but she’s coming, and Sol and Thor from downstairs. I think it’ll be good.’
‘You don’t have any friends from school here?’
‘No. I lost touch with most people when I went to university, and my best friend lives in Australia now, so we keep in touch but hardly ever see each other. How about you?’
‘I grew up in Hafnarfjoreur, and it was much smaller than it is now. As soon as anyone was old enough, they came to live in Reykjavik because it was livelier. I’d always helped out on the boat, even when I was still at school, so it felt like I was the only one left.’
‘You must have been close to your brother then because of that? ’
‘Not really.’
‘Me and Gudrun weren’t close growing up because of the age difference. It felt like she was a little kid when I left for university. We had nothing in common then.’
‘But it’s different now?’
‘Yes. It’s taken me a while to catch up with the fact that the age difference has disappeared. In fact, most of the time she’s so bossy you’d think she was the oldest.’
She and Leifur finished working on the boat around four o’clock.
‘I’ll head home and be back later for the party,’ he said.
‘Okay. Don’t be late. I don’t want to be on my own.’ She knew it was ridiculous, but she was worried about a person she didn’t know very well arriving first and then having nothing to say to them.
‘I’ll come early then,’ he said, grinning. ‘I wouldn’t want you to have to deal with your friends alone.’
‘That makes me sound like a crazy person. They’re not my friends yet. That’s the problem.’
‘Have a glass of wine before anyone gets there to take the edge off. You’ll be fine.’
Astrid decided that was good advice, so by the time Leifur arrived — first, she was halfway into her first drink.
‘Here,’ he said, handing her a bottle of wine and kissing her on the cheek at the same time. ‘Am I first?’
‘Yes. And thank you for that.’
‘The place looks great,’ he said, walking into the lounge with his hands in his pockets.
He was wearing a dark grey sweater and jeans with brown boots. Overall, it was a great look on him and made her stomach feel strange, in a good way. His hair was combed to one side rather than being tousled like normal, and even his beard looked… tidier.
‘It’s kind of the same, but I got carried away in Snug with Gudrun’s staff discount.’
‘It feels like your place,’ he said, turning to face her.
‘Can I get you a drink?’ She felt slightly flustered at the way he was looking at her, and the fact that he looked so polished compared to normal made her feel less at ease with him.
‘Do you have beer?’
She opened the fridge and handed him a beer and then rummaged in the drawer for a bottle opener.
‘Have you sat out on the balcony much?’
‘Only on the first night. It’s not warm enough in the evenings yet.’
‘True.’
Why had she asked him to be here first? This was excruciating. How could it be so different from every day on the boat?
Thankfully, there was a knock at the door, and Sol and Thor joined them. Astrid busied herself with sorting drinks out for them while Leifur chatted to them and then everyone else arrived.
‘So you’re staying for the summer?’ Iris asked her.
‘Yes. It’s a relief to have something solid for a few months.’
‘You don’t think you’ll stay here long term?’
‘Honestly, I don’t know what I’m going to do. At least the tour boat work is linked to my career. Why did you decide to stay? Was it because of Siggi?’
‘Kind of. I was working for a geology lab in the UK, but my boss and I didn’t see eye to eye.
I thought I’d be hard pressed to find another position that allowed me the freedom I had to pursue my research, but when I came here to study the latest eruption, a spot opened up at the Icelandic Met Office.
By then, Siggi and I were together, but I can’t honestly say whether I’d have chosen him over my career.
’ She looked over her shoulder to see where Siggi was, then laughed.
‘He knows, but I don’t like to remind him too often. ’
‘After so many years, I can’t imagine what I’d do if I couldn’t find another research post. I don’t feel like I’ve finished yet.
’ There was more to discover and more to research, and in her heart of hearts she knew that wasn’t going to be possible if she stayed in Iceland, however much it had started to feel like home.
‘I completely understand,’ said Iris. ‘Keep looking. You never know what will come up. And in the meantime, enjoy the summer with that lovely boat captain.’ She nodded to Leifur, who was chatting to Jonas and Olafur.
‘There’s nothing going on,’ Astrid said. It was hard to see how there could be when things had been so awkward earlier. Perhaps that’s what it would always be like if they weren’t on the boat.
‘Maybe not, but I don’t think that’ll be the case for much longer. Have you seen the way he looks at you?’
Two glasses of wine had softened Astrid’s inhibitions. ‘He smells amazing,’ she said to Iris in a low voice.
‘How do you know that?’
Astrid told Iris about the puffin trip.
‘I can’t believe you two haven’t got it together yet.’
‘I’m not into a quick fling, and I don’t think he is either. And I might only be here for the summer.’
‘He’ll take the summer, I’d bet good money on that. Be upfront with him and be honest with each other about how you feel and no one will get hurt.’
It was good advice. Perhaps she’d speak to Leifur after the tours had launched, once they were into a normal routine and the worst of the work was behind them.
After their meeting in the coffee shop, she knew the feelings she had for him were mutual but she also knew that they were both out of practice when it came to relationships.
And how did the fact that they like each other translate into something more than that ?
‘Why don’t you tell him you like him?’ Gudrun said, coming from nowhere. ‘He must already know if you look at him like that all the time.’
‘He knows,’ Astrid said
‘What are you waiting for, then? Life’s too short to be wasting time with stolen glances across the room like you’re both teenagers in unrequited love.’
‘It’s not the right time, that’s all. I’ll wait until we start the tours properly when he’s under less pressure.’
‘It might help with the pressure,’ Gudrun said.
At around ten-thirty, people drifted off, with most of them having work in the morning. When Gudrun and Olafur left, Astrid thought that was everyone, and then Leifur came out of the bathroom.
‘Oh!’
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,’ he said, laughing as she stood there with her hand on her chest.
‘I thought everyone had gone,’ she said, laughing herself.
‘Well, I was just about to.’
‘You’re not driving home, are you?’
‘No, I’ll stay on Brimfaxi . I’ll have the coffee brewed by the time you get there in the morning.’
‘Do you want a coffee before you go?’
‘That’d be great. Maybe a decaf?’
Astrid made coffee and took it over to the sofa where Leifur was sitting, lounging in the corner, his ankle resting on his opposite knee.
‘I enjoyed that more than I thought I would,’ she said.
‘Me too. I’m not great at small talk normally, but those guys are easy to get along with. Did you know Thor owns a bar down by the harbour? It’s where Ned Nokes tried out his stuff when he went solo.’
‘I didn’t know that. So Jonas and Olafur must know Thor already? ’
‘Yes. Small world, huh?’
‘Tiny,’ Astrid agreed. ‘Did you ever think of leaving?’
‘I considered it when we lost the business. I could have gone overseas and fished somewhere else, but I think I’m too old to start again somewhere else.’
‘You’re not,’ Astrid said.
‘You’ve done it plenty of times, I’m guessing?’ She nodded. ‘It’s different when it’s something you’re used to. I’ve never done it. I never even left to go to university. I’ll never leave Iceland.’
Astrid was surprised he could be so certain about that. She couldn’t imagine knowing or planning to stay in the same place for the rest of her life when there was so much to see everywhere else.
‘You don’t want to see the world?’
‘When you’re brought up with expectations about your future, you tend not to think about what you might be missing.
I knew I was going to be a fisherman from, well, forever.
I knew I’d make no more money than I needed to house and look after myself, certainly not enough for holidays overseas, and I was okay with that because it was the only option open to me.
To be where you are, you would have been brought up to know that the world was yours for the taking, that you could do whatever you wanted. ’
‘That’s true.’ She felt bad that she’d assumed that was the case for everyone.
‘I don’t mind. It’s all my parents knew because they were both from a fishing community, and that’s how it is. I mean, not always now, but I have a strong sense of loyalty to my father and the legacy he and his father and grandfather left behind. That’s what drives me.’
‘It’s very special to have such a strong connection to your family.’
‘It is. It’s different now because of what happened to the family business. I’ve had to come to terms with it being lost on my watch. But the fact that I don’t have kids makes it easier. I’d feel like I’d taken their future away if I did.’
‘But you didn’t want a bigger change for yourself when you had the chance?’
He shook his head. ‘I don’t think there is anywhere more beautiful than Iceland. And this way I still get to be on the sea every day and close to my mother. That’s all that matters.’