32
SIX MONTHS LATER
Leifur stood on the quay, staring at the road that led to the harbour car park, waiting impatiently for Olafur, Gudrun and Astrid.
The rest of the Iceland Adventures team were on board Brimfaxi waiting for the other three to arrive so that they could set off for the dry run for the new season of whale watching trips.
After a long winter in Greenland which had been some of the best months of Leifur’s life, they had parted ways for a couple of months while he came back to Iceland to take over from Isak and Astrid went on a trip to Australia to see her friend from school.
‘Bet you wish your reunion wasn’t on the boat with everyone else here,’ Isak said, coming up behind him. He looked tanned after a month of island-hopping in the Caribbean, and Leifur had been surprised to find himself looking forward to working with his brother again.
‘I don’t care, I just can’t wait to see her.’
Isak clapped him on the back. ‘Well, you have all summer now.’
Leifur had a lump in his throat. It was hard to believe how far he’d come in a year. As well as starting a new business, he’d found the love of his life and a relationship with his brother that he never thought he’d have.
‘Yes,’ he managed, keeping his eyes firmly on the car park.
‘Here they are.’ He walked over to where Olafur pulled up the truck and watched Astrid climb out of the back seat.
She was wearing the very first Lopi sweater that he’d knitted in Greenland and it warmed his heart that she wore it, even though it wasn’t perfect.
She looked amazing. The Australian sun had lightened her hair and dusted a few freckles across her nose and cheeks.
She was grinning at him as he took her in his arms.
‘You look wonderful,’ he said, squeezing her to him.
‘So do you.’ Her eyes were shining, and any worries he might have had that she wasn’t looking forward to being back here for the summer disappeared.
‘Nice sweater.’
‘Knitted with love.’ She reached up and touched his cheek and he wished more than anything that they didn’t have to spend the afternoon with everyone else.
‘Are you sure you’re ready to launch straight back in?’
‘I’ve been looking forward to it from the moment you turned up in Nuuk.’
‘There’s no pressure to work today. It’s turned out to be more of a team outing than a dry run, so you don’t need to worry too much about finding whales.’
‘Stop trying to spoil my fun.’
Olafur and Gudrun had already headed over to Brimfaxi , giving them a precious moment alone before they had to do the same.
‘I can’t wait for tonight,’ Leifur said, kissing her again, hardly able to believe that they had the next four months together.
‘Neither can I. I’ll put my stuff in your truck later. ’
They were going to live at Leifur’s cottage. It was more convenient to have a place in Reykjavik, but they’d decided the short commute was worth it for the beautiful summer evenings they could spend looking out at the water.
‘And no Eva this year?’ Astrid put her arm around Leifur’s waist as they walked to the boat.
‘Actually, she’s sharing the galley job with Isak. She’s writing her dissertation, so it suited her, and he’s working for the wider team now, so it’s worked out well for both of them.’
‘It’s like I never left.’
He put his arm across her shoulders and squeezed her against him.
‘Not at all. This has been a long time coming.’ He kissed the top of her head and then stepped aside to allow her to board Brimfaxi first. The entire team was waiting on deck to welcome her, and Leifur loved seeing her reaction.
‘Welcome back,’ Jonas said, hugging her. ‘Sorry for throwing you in at the deep end.’
‘Oh, it’s fine. I’m looking forward to it. I can’t wait to spend the summer with lots of guests after a winter with narwhals.’
‘And Leifur? It was that bad?’ Jonas laughed.
Isak was in the wheelhouse and started the engines. Leifur let off the ropes, and they set off.
After Astrid said hello to everyone on deck, she went below and found Eva in the galley.
‘Astrid! It’s so great to see you.’ They hugged each other. ‘How were the narwhals?’
‘Incredible. Don’t tell Leifur, but I can’t wait to get back there.’
Eva laughed and handed her a glass. ‘It’s a non-alcoholic cocktail. Everyone else had one when they came onboard.’
‘Thanks. And how’s the degree going? Leifur said you’re writing your dissertation over the summer? ’
‘I’ve been working with the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute here to look into how their database of humpback whales could be expanded to create a global database.’
‘Wow, that’s amazing.’
‘If it hadn’t been for last summer, I wouldn’t have come up with that idea. I hope I can work in that field, identifying individuals, when I graduate.’
‘Can I get a glass of water for Rachel? She’s not feeling well,’ said Gudrun coming into the galley.
Astrid filled a glass. ‘I’d better come up with you and get started. Is she seasick? It feels calm.’
Gudrun followed Astrid up onto deck, but got waylaid talking to Iris. Astrid found Rachel leaning over the bow, looking determinedly at the horizon while Jonas rubbed her back.
‘I don’t think looking at the horizon is going to help,’ he was saying to her.
‘It usually does,’ said Astrid.
‘Perhaps not if you’re pregnant,’ said Rachel.
Jonas looked at Astrid and grinned. ‘We were keeping it a secret, but I guess with a sea as calm as this…’
‘Congratulations! Hey, Gudrun!’ Astrid called her sister over.
Rachel turned around and sipped the water. ‘We’re having a baby,’ she said to Gudrun.
‘No! Are you?’
‘Yes. By spring you’ll be an honorary aunt,’ said Rachel.
‘That’s wonderful, congratulations,’ Gudrun said to Rachel and Jonas, who were beaming.
‘I’d better start looking out for some whales or Isak’s going to be halfway to Canada before we know it,’ said Astrid.
After a successful couple of hours of whale watching, with Isak at the helm, they headed back into port. Leifur joined Astrid on the stern as she watched the water behind them while everyone else had headed downstairs for drinks and food.
‘It’s like you were never away,’ he said, smiling.
‘I’d forgotten how much I love it. If I see a whale in Greenland, most of the time there’s no one to share it with. Unless we’re on the deck at home.’
The winter had been an amazing experience. One that bonded them and made them realise that if they could live together for two weeks while they were literally snowed into the house, they could live through anything together.
‘I know what you mean. It’s great to have the immediate reactions of everyone around you. I didn’t realise how that was until Isak took the wheel.’
That evening, at the cottage, after Astrid had unpacked her things into the drawers that Leifur had cleared for her, they headed down to the shore with a beer each, for old times’ sake.
‘I can’t believe Rachel’s pregnant,’ said Astrid.
‘They looked so happy.’ Leifur gazed at the water with a smile on his face. ‘Do you want kids?’
‘Yes, do you?’
‘Yes, with you I do.’
‘I used to think that by the time I was ready to have kids, I’d have reached the point in my career where I’d be happy to give it up. And now that I’m with you and we’ve worked out how to be together, I’m scared that wanting kids on top of that is too much to wish for.’
‘You’re thinking of it in the context of what you’re doing now. Think back a year and you’d never have thought we’d be where we are now. Who knows what things will be like in another couple of years when your contract in Greenland finishes.’
‘We have two more winters to discuss this endlessly, I suppose,’ she said, laughing.
‘And there are other things we could do before we have kids,’ said Leifur.
‘Like what?’
‘Like get married?’
‘Are you proposing?’
‘Yes, very badly.’ He stood up and pulled something out of his pocket. Then he knelt on the damp moss in front of her. Taking her left hand, he pushed a ring onto her finger, keeping his hand over it while he said, ‘Astrid, will you marry me?’
‘Yes.’
He moved his hand to reveal a silver ring with the most perfect piece of blue sea glass in a claw setting.
‘Leifur, this is beautiful.’
‘I found the glass when we were on the beach together. I know we don’t know what will happen after Greenland, but I know we’ll always work something out so we can be together.’
‘Me too.’ She shifted so that she was on her knees too. ‘I love you so much,’ she said, embracing him as hard as she could.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said, laughing as they lay down next to each other on top of the tarpaulin. Each of them propped up on an elbow and facing each other. ‘It was more romantic in my head. I didn’t mean to blurt it out tonight. I just —’
‘It was perfect. More than perfect.’
‘Maybe I’ll surprise you sometime and do it properly.’
‘When will we get married? Oh my god, we’re getting married!’
He laughed and kissed her. ‘Let’s have a summer wedding.’
‘On the boat.’
‘We don’t have to do that. ’
‘I want to. Without Brimfaxi , we might never have fallen in love.’
‘That sounds perfect.’
The End