Chapter Twenty-One
Twenty-One
We’d been walking for over an hour, and I was desperate for some water and a flapjack.
Firefly Forest had a rich array of wildlife and the further we were from the retreat, the more impressive it got.
Puffins flew silently overhead, skidding into the water, next to birds of every shape and colour.
Guillemots and gulls flittered with pink-footed geese and oystercatchers, and Mark was in his element, ticking them all off in his bird-watching book.
Herds of elk and reindeer ran together in the distance, moving as one for protection, and the occasional eagle swooped past.
It was a joy to be out in the fresh air, but I was still smarting from Mark’s bizarre arrival, despite him apologising over dinner.
‘You said I should check it out? When you messaged me?’ he said, seeming surprised that I was annoyed.
‘Are you serious? You thought I meant you should physically come over to check it out and sleep on my sofa? Rather than “checking out” their website, for example?’
‘Fine, I’m sorry – it was a misunderstanding,’ he said with a bashful smile. ‘I’m only here for a few days. I didn’t think you’d mind so much.’
‘Of course I mind!’ I huffed. ‘Not that there’s much I can do about it now.’
‘In my defence, the cabins looked much bigger on the website,’ Mark argued. ‘You’ve been booking our holidays for years, I wasn’t really sure how to…’
‘Mark – look!’ I whispered, putting a finger to my lips and treading carefully.
Three reindeer calves were grazing with their mum next to a pine tree.
Little brown, fluffy things, nibbling away at the grass.
I silently pulled out my phone and zoomed in.
This was going to be my Christmas card. I took a tiny step closer and somehow slipped on a branch, thudding to the ground and sending them scampering back into the woods.
Four white bums bouncing off through the air.
‘Very slick,’ Mark said, watching them through his binoculars. ‘This area is huge, you know. I reckon it’s still another mile or so to the shore.’
‘Yeah, Tore said it was ten by ten or something like that.’
‘Did he? Interesting. They’re barely using any of it then,’ he mused.
‘Hmm, I don’t know. I’ve seen loads since I’ve been here.
The activities stretch across it.’ I shaded my eyes to see.
‘We went alpine touring up that mountain a couple of weeks ago. Then husky sledding over on the west side, near the water. They employ people from the mainland to come over on different days, depending on what we’re doing. ’
‘Nice. A local business model. Keeps everything tight.’
I sat on a chunk of wood that could almost pass for a bench and dug out my water bottle. ‘Can we stop for a few minutes?’
‘Sure,’ Mark said, slipping off his rucksack. He slapped himself hard on the neck then checked his hand. ‘Gotcha, you little bastard.’
‘Get some of this on you,’ I said, handing him my insect repellent.
‘Amazing, thanks, I didn’t bring any,’ he said gratefully, spraying himself all over.
‘At least I’m good for something.’
‘You are,’ he said. ‘And what am I good for?’
‘Are we in a pantomime?’
He pulled a hip flask out of his bag with a grin. ‘Drink?’
‘Mark! You’re not allowed booze in here!’ I said, looking around furtively to check no one was watching.
‘Er… yes I am. I’m a grown man on holiday – I’m not here to practise abstinence. Of any kind.’
The sharp whisky fumes punched me in the nose as he unscrewed the cap, and I could taste it in the air as he glugged it down. Not a very gentle option for eleven in the morning.
‘No thanks, I’m on a detox,’ I said, as he offered it to me.
‘A detox, eh? Anything else I can tempt you with instead?’ Mark unzipped his jacket like a trench-coat salesman and the pockets were packed with chocolate bars and alcohol miniatures. ‘I read it was vegan and booze-free on the website and wasn’t sure how long I’d last.’
He was a human vending machine, and my eyes were on stalks as I scanned the options, but I had to stay strong. The Nilsens took the rules so seriously and I didn’t want to let them down. I bit into my flapjack and closed my eyes to distract myself.
‘Dealing Double Deckers at your age – tut, tut,’ I said, shaking my head. ‘No booze for me thanks, but I’ll take a tonic on the rocks.’
‘No tonic or ice, unfortunately. But you can sit on the rocks and drink your water?’
I laughed. ‘Fine.’
‘I’ve got a block of cheddar and a pack of pork pies back at the cabin as well.’
‘You haven’t!’ My mouth watered instantly.
The vegan food was good, but my insides were missing meat and dairy.
I’d had enough pumpkin shots and beetroot brownies to last me a lifetime.
I pictured a slice of bear ham with grated cheese for hair, holding out his hammy hand with a wink.
It wouldn’t take much to tempt me back from my have-a-go veganism.
Never again would I travel abroad without an emergency stash of KitKats.
Mark was taking photos like a comic-book photographer, capturing the view from every angle: the forest, the fjords, the sky.
‘Are you OK?’ I asked, concerned. It wasn’t like him to care about remembering a place.
He stopped. ‘Yeah, fine. I got this camera for my birthday, and I’m loving it.’
‘Oh, yes. Happy birthday for last week.’ It was a date that had been etched in my mind for years.
Mark’s love language was receiving gifts, and I’d treated him to some outrageously generous birthday presents in the handful of years we’d known each other.
Tickets to The Ashes in Melbourne, Adele in Las Vegas, a surprise weekend to Coachella.
It felt strange to have barely acknowledged his birthday this year when there had always been such a build-up to it before.
But I wasn’t too bothered. It was as clear a sign as any that I was moving on.
All that past thought and effort – and what was the point?
I didn’t ask who’d bought him the camera, and I didn’t care.
Maybe his mum. Maybe he’d bought it for himself. ‘Did you celebrate with Millie?’
He rolled his eyes. ‘No. It might surprise you to hear she went cold after your little outburst at Harry’s.’
I clutched my chest in faux surprise. ‘What? Why?’
‘Lots of reasons, but mainly her allergy to dogs.’
‘Oh really? Nothing to do with you then?’ I said archly.
‘No. More women are allergic to dogs than you might think.’ He laughed. ‘At least that’s what they keep telling me.’
‘Speaking of which, we should call your mum and check in on them.’
‘Have you missed them? Being out here?’ Mark asked.
‘Of course,’ I said, thinking of their little snouts. ‘My two mini besties. Always full of good vibes.’
‘Not when they’re with me. They bark non-stop when you’re not around. It was a relief to drop them off at Mum’s. I don’t even think they like me.’
‘Of course they do!’ I said, knowing full well I was their favourite. ‘They only ever want a walk, a cuddle or food – or ideally all three. Dogs are remarkably simple creatures.’
‘I’ve read they choose one human, and all others pale into insignificance,’ Mark said, glumly. ‘And it’s clear I’m not their choice. I’m a means to an end at most.’
‘How can you say that?! They love you!’
‘Nah. They love treats and pigs’ ears. But I get the feeling I’m just their pork supplier. They tolerate me until they can get back to you.’
I was proud of my girls for being loyal in my absence and showing Mark what they thought of him breaking up our little family.
‘It’s hard for them. It’s been hard for all of us,’ I said sadly.
Mark didn’t respond, picking up his camera and hiding behind the lens to take more photos of the same view. ‘Shall we carry on down to the water? Or head back for lunch?’
I was still hungry after my flapjack and hadn’t had much breakfast. ‘We could go for silent lunch now, then walk along the shoreline tomorrow morning? If we leave before nine it’ll give us time to have a swim in the thermal pool.’
‘Good plan,’ Mark said. ‘You always were one step ahead.’
I took a final swig of water and stood up in a burst of energy.
‘I’ll race you,’ I called behind me, getting a head start before his competitive streak had chance to kick in. I was still trying to get his attention, even now, and it made me sad. I didn’t really want him to chase me. But I wanted him to want to chase me.
*
‘There you are,’ Tore said as we ran towards the Orangery, snorting with laughter. ‘I was getting worried. Are you OK? Did you get lost?’
‘No, we were just exploring,’ Mark said.
The restaurant windows were open, and people were already silently tucking into lunch. I tried to catch Henrik’s eye, but he seemed very caught up in his courgetti and didn’t look my way once – not even when I waved.
Tore blocked the doorway, calm and zen-like, his alpha aura radiating strong.
‘Mark, as I mentioned on our tour, we observe quiet during lunch, out of respect for anyone processing difficult feelings.’
‘Understood,’ Mark said, his face suddenly serious.
Tore nodded slowly, frowning. ‘Sorry to ask this, but can I smell… spirits?’
My immediate instinct was to lawyer up and defend our collective criminality.
But I managed to keep my mouth zipped. Mark was closest and it was his drinks cabinet – he could handle it.
He pulled out his hip flask and waved it shiftily.
‘I always take it when I go orienteering, in case of emergency. Better to be safe than sorry.’
The absolute front of him, standing there breathing noxious fumes all over Tore while trying to pull the wool over his eyes. He was like a five-year-old.
Tore eyed the contraband and smiled. ‘It’s quite safe here, but I understand the logic. I wonder, if under the circumstances, I might speak to Jonas about you having lunch a little later. You probably want a shower and a rest after all your… exploration?’
‘Great idea. Thanks, Tore,’ I said, linking arms with Mark and dragging him off. ‘This way.’ He put the hip flask back in his pocket and a Bounty wrapper fluttered to the floor.
I snatched it up as fast as I could. ‘Sorry,’ I mouthed at Tore, feeling guilty. ‘We’ll be back in an hour, in a more presentable state.’
He gave me a thumbs up, but I knew I’d let him down. Mark sniggered, so I kept him facing forward and frogmarched him down the path.
‘Ha, ha… I got you in trouble with the teacher,’ he sang. ‘What kind of resort doesn’t let you have a few drinks to relax? Is this AA or something? I didn’t realise you were holidaying with winos and smackheads.’
‘Shh. Let’s get some coffee inside you.’
‘How about we get something inside you instead?’ he said, chuckling to himself. ‘For old times’ sake.’
‘Jeez, how many did you have?’ I steered him back to the cabin, put the fire on and made a pot of Henrik’s special coffee as Mark lay on the sofa. His phone started pinging away as soon as we walked in. ‘Have you got signal in here?’
‘Yeah, I brought a booster box with me. I got it in Finland last month. I’d have been cut off from civilisation, otherwise.’
‘I think that’s the idea,’ I said, carrying over his coffee.
‘Need to stay in touch with work though, don’t I?’ he mumbled, closing his eyes. Always so worried about work, his brain was forever buzzing with activity, just like mine. Maybe that was part of the reason we got along so well.
‘No, Mark, you don’t. You’re Tore’s worst nightmare. Secret aerial on the roof, booze, chocolate… pork pies! You’ll be pulling a string of sausages out your pocket next, like a Punch and Judy show.’
‘Not a sausage, I’m just pleased to see you,’ he said with his eyes still closed, laughing to himself.
‘Still rolling out the same old puerile jokes, eh?’
‘Sausage,’ he replied, then started softly snoring.