31
ASTRID HAD BEEN in Nuuk, the tiny capital of Greenland, for a week. Her new contract was with the government of Greenland, and she was part of a small team of scientists monitoring the narwhal population of West Greenland.
Until now, most of her work had been with humpbacks, which were more common below the Arctic Circle but the narwhals were a huge part of what drew her to come to Greenland for this job.
They were otherworldly, with their long single tusk, like a unicorn for whales, and their numbers were decreasing.
She was going to spend the winter studying them in the West Greenland polynya, an area of sea that historically doesn’t freeze over in the winter because of the warm sea currents in that area.
She had been given a tiny house on the edge of a fjord in the northern, old part of Nuuk.
The view over the fjord was breathtaking, and Astrid felt a sense of peace as soon as she stepped into the house.
It was an enormous relief, since she would be here over the worst of the winter, perhaps snowed in for days at a time.
The plan was to collect data before the worst of the weather arrived, at which point she would review and write up the results.
The winters in Iceland when she was a child had prepared her for what it would be like to some extent, but the little town of Nuuk was not Reykjavik, so she was planning to accumulate what she could in the way of supplies over the next couple of months in readiness for the days when she might not venture out.
While the weather was still good, cold but bright, and with light evenings, she took advantage of where her new house was and sat outside watching the water as much as she could.
It reminded her of Leifur’s house, although she’d already seen an abundance of marine life in her fjord; humpback, fin and minke whales had all made an appearance, but she was yet to spot a narwhal.
The tiny deck that faced the water had become her favourite place to sit, and she sipped a hot chocolate while she watched the calm water of the fjord for signs of life.
As well as wildlife, there were boats that sailed past regularly.
Not only fishing boats, but larger vessels like cruise boats and sailing ships.
Today, an elegant sailing ship came into view, and she watched it as it cut through the glassy water at a leisurely pace, the ripples it created lapping at the rocks beneath her.
It slowed right down, and she watched as a small wooden tender was lowered over the side of the boat, followed by someone climbing into it and setting off. Towards her.
She squinted her eyes, but at this distance it was hard to see the figure in the boat, but for some reason she needed to.
She held her breath because this boat seemed as if it were heading deliberately in her direction rather than anywhere more logical, like the quay in town.
As the boat came closer, she had a feeling about why it was coming this way, and once she could make out the figure sitting next to the tiller, she could hardly believe it. Leifur.
So many questions were running through her head as she watched him approach.
The main one being, what was he doing here?
But as he got closer and she could see his face, could see the smile despite it being hidden by his beard, her heart filled with the love she still held for him.
It had taken everything she had not to head straight back to Iceland to see him when she got back from Costa Rica because she already knew then that she’d be coming to Greenland.
It would have been so easy to go to Reykjavik and stay in her apartment for a month but she knew she and Leifur would have picked up where they left off and it wasn’t fair to either of them when she was only going to leave again.
The boat came close, but it wasn’t like Hafnarfjoreur where the sea gave way to a shingle shoreline. Here, the coastline was rocky, and there was no way Leifur could disembark or even secure the boat to a mooring, but it was so wonderful to see him. That was almost enough.
‘Do you ever see whales in this fjord?’ he asked, killing the engine as he spoke.
‘Yes, it’s teeming with whales. Is that why you came?’
He tipped his head as if considering his answer, and Astrid wanted to laugh, but she waited, enjoying the anticipation.
‘I came to see if you’d be willing to welcome a weary sailor in for a bite to eat.’
‘I could rustle up some soup and bread.’
He laughed. ‘That’s just what I was hoping for.’
‘Head down the coast. I’ll meet you on the quay.’
He saluted her with a big grin, started the engine and puttered off towards town.
Astrid ran into the house, grabbed her coat and ran down to the centre of town where Leifur was securing the boat to a mooring post. He climbed out and, once he’d clocked her, started striding towards her, his arms ready to catch her as she flung herself into him.
There was no better feeling in the world than this.
‘You’re here,’ she said, pulling back to take a proper look at his face. ‘I’ve missed you so much. This is a terrible idea.’ She laughed and wiped a stray tear away.
‘It’s the best idea I’ve ever had.’
‘Did you sail that boat here?’
‘I hitched a ride. Navigating these waters isn’t for the fainthearted.’
She beamed at him, wondering if she’d ever be able to stop smiling. He came here just to see her and that was the most romantic thing that had ever happened to her. Even if it would break her heart all over again when he had to leave, it was already worth it.
‘Come on, let’s go home.’
Tempting as it was to fall into bed without a second thought, Astrid prepared soup and bread for them both, and they sat at the small table, gazing at each other as they ate. Then afterwards, she made tea, and they went out to sit on the deck.
‘This is incredible,’ said Leifur. ‘The most beautiful place.’
‘It is.’
‘So you’re here for three years?’
‘Yes. Although I do have four months off in the summer months.’
‘I know, Gudrun said. And that’s why I’m here.’
Astrid frowned. ‘I don’t understand. Nothing’s changed. We can’t have a summer romance every year for four months. That’s not fair on either of us.’
‘No. But things have changed for me. We’re operating a different schedule over the winter, and with Isak on the team I don’t need to be captain of Brimfaxi all the time.’
‘It worked out with Isak?’
He nodded and grinned. ‘Isak’s great. He’s part of the team now, and it made me realise I can make different choices.’
‘So you’re here because you think it can work?’ She could hardly breathe waiting for him to answer. Please let him think it could work .
‘What would you say if I stayed here with you for the winter? And what do you think about coming to work on the tours over the summer? Every summer.’
On the face of it, it sounded like a near-perfect plan. ‘You want to come here for the winter? What would you do?’
‘I’d like to fish. In the traditional way.
And I’m going to knit Lopi sweaters. I’ve thought about this a lot, Astrid.
Isak being willing to take more responsibility made me realise that I need a break from that.
My whole life has been dictated by my job, but now that I’m partners with Jonas, it doesn’t have to be like that anymore.
He’s fine with Isak taking over for the winter and me having a break.
Then Isak has the chance to take off if he wants to when I get back. ’
‘You’re going to live with me for the winter and fish and knit?’
‘If you’ll have me.’
‘Of course I’ll have you.’ She hooked her arm into his. ‘You want to knit?’
‘Yes. I loved it when we learnt at school, and my father used to knit gloves for the men on the boat in the days before you could get technical fabrics. And it’s very relaxing. I need more relaxation in my life.’
‘I love the thought of you sitting out here knitting while I’m looking for narwhals.’
‘And the summer tours? Do you think it could work? Then there would only be a couple of months at a time when we’re not together.’
‘I can’t believe you’ve come up with this. It’s the perfect plan. I took this job thinking I’d find something else for the summer months, or maybe I’d go somewhere warm for a holiday, but I never thought about working in Reykjavik for the summer. I thought you’d have someone else by now.’
‘When Eva went back to Canada, Jonas decided not to look for a replacement, so I asked him whether he’d support my idea. And he did.’
‘So, everyone’s okay with the whole plan? You have everything aligned, and you just need me to say yes.’
‘Only if you want to. If you don’t, I can catch a ride back to Iceland in a couple of days on the boat I came on. I don’t want to push you into anything. It’s your decision.’
It seemed like the easiest decision in the world. She could see it working for her.
‘You’re the one doing all the compromising. It doesn’t seem fair. And what happens in three years when I need to look for another job?’
‘Three years is a long time. Who’s to say that even if we lived in Iceland year-round together, we’d still be together in three years?’
‘You don’t believe that.’
‘No, I don’t. But you have to know, this isn’t a compromise for me. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime.’
She didn’t say anything, just looked at him until he carried on.
‘I thought I’d be tied to Iceland my whole life, and I was happy with that.
I wanted that. But these past four months have shown me what else there is to enjoy about life when you’re not the person who has to keep everything going all the time.
It’s given me a chance to breathe, see that sharing the responsibility with other people, Jonas and my brother, makes life easier.
It’s fun being part of a team, and they’re all behind this. ’
‘You don’t think it’d drive you mad not being out on the sea in the winter?’
‘Not if I’m here with you.’ He reached out and took her mug, putting it down so that he could pull her onto his lap.
‘This place is incredible. There’s a different pace of life somewhere like this, and I’m ready for that.
Hibernating with you over the winter isn’t going to drive me mad. Living without you would.’
‘It’s too good to be true.’
‘I’m glad you feel like that because I was so scared you would think it was a terrible idea. I thought you might have moved on and not looked back.’
‘Like you told me to.’
‘I didn’t want you to do that.’
‘I know. And that’s why I’m still in love with you, Leifur. Because you love me enough not to make me choose. Even now, you’re not making me choose. You’re giving me everything I want in the world.’
He kissed her like she’d never been kissed before, and it wasn’t until they came up for air that they realised it had started raining.
‘We should go in,’ Astrid said, picking up the mugs.
They stood in the kitchen and pulled off their wet clothes.
‘My bag is on the boat,’ Leifur said, standing in her kitchen in his underwear.
‘You’ll have to stay here until your clothes are dry then,’ she said, moving towards him, revelling in the moment their skin would touch and she’d feel his warmth against her. And she’d have this for the whole winter.
‘I’ll pick my bag up tomorrow,’ he murmured into her neck as he began kissing her.
‘You’re staying. For the whole winter.’
‘The whole winter, my love.’ He picked her up and carried her into the bedroom, laying her on the bed. The rain lashing at the window made the idea of being in bed together even more tempting.
‘I love you more than narwhals.’