Page 7 of Viktor at Sea

“Katarina and I were talking last night after I got back from picking up Astrid. We would love to have you over for dinner tonight. Or any other night if tonight is not good for you,”Daewon grinned, excited. “Though I have to be honest, our intentions behind the invitation are completely selfish.”

“How so?”

“We both want to hear all about your travels. We figured, what better way for some good old classic story-telling than over Katarina’s amazing cooking?” he propositioned me, his offer far too good to turn down.

“There is no better way,” I grinned. “Tonight is good for me if it’s good for you. Do you want me to bring anything?”

“Just yourself and your stories.”

“I can do that.”

“Great!” Daewon grinned and patted me on the shoulder. “I look forward to seeing you later tonight, son. Come hungry because there’s going to be a lot of food.”

I grinned and promised him I would.

There was no way I was turning down an invitation to have dinner with the Skaus. Not when it promised me an entire evening with Astrid.

CHAPTER FOUR

Despite the promise of a dinner nothing short of a grand feast this evening, it wasn’t enough to stop me from venturing into the square in search of a big, hearty breakfast. Ice-cold morning swims always had a way of working up my appetite. That, and I had to admit, I was hopeful of running into a certain someone even though I had the promise of seeing her later that evening.

I’m sure Astrid didn’t care in the slightest, but I felt an overwhelming urge to explain what happened last night.

That was the first time I had ever felt guilt after sleeping with a woman, and it would be the last. I had vowed to myself last night that not only would I never sleep with another woman again but that I would do everything it possibly took to win her over and make her mine.

But for now, breakfast.

My mouth salivated when the sweet aroma of breakfast wafted through the air as I got closer to the square. Food was always available at the square during meal times, not only for those less fortunate and less wealthy in Jorvik but also for those who didn’t have much family–in my case, no family at all–and weren’t all that skilled in the kitchen. It also gave peoplelike Gustav whose passion was everything food and cooking, a chance to practice and show off their skills. That was how I had propositioned Gustav to join us on the ship. We needed someone to cook for us as the rest of us weren’t the least bit skilled in the kitchen, and frankly, the notion of eating nothing but dried food, raw fish or most of the time, burned fish quickly lost its appeal. When Gustav was offered a handsome sum–the same as the rest of the crew–he simply couldn’t turn down the offer.

Wanting to save my appetite for tonight, I only placed some bread and two different types of egg: duck and quail on my plate. It had been a long time since I had eaten an egg that hadn’t come out of a fish.

Once I was finished filling my plate, I headed over to a low wall that lined the edge of the square and took a seat on it.

Being stuck on a ship for months on end meant that me and my crew only had each other for company. The sense of belonging and crewmanship was splendid, and I couldn’t ask for better friends in the world, but they sure were a rowdy bunch. There was always something going on in the ship: a game, a conversation, an argument and sometimes–more like most of the time–something far more peculiar and strange, but there was never peace and quiet. So, it was nice to just sit and watch people go about their lives, enjoying my food with nothing but my mind and thoughts to keep me company.

To my left, a group of men a few years younger than me were enjoying breakfast and chatting among themselves. There were a few children among them, playing between their legs–I couldn’t tell if the children were their siblings or kids. In the centre was a larger group of children, ages varying from that of a toddler all the way up to a pre-teen, playing among themselves. The younger ones were kicking around a ball while the older ones appeared to be trying to unknot the tail of a kite. If I wasn’tenjoying the peace and quiet so much, I would have gone over and offered to help. Maybe after I finished eating.

My eyes flittered slightly to the right, and I caught the eye of a familiar young man, walking through the square with his father.

“Viktor!” he called out to me with a large, excitable grin. He said something to his father before running toward me.

Roscoe ran into my arms, and much to my surprise, he squeezed me back just as hard as I did.

“You like you’ve grown a foot since I’ve been away,” I joked as we pulled away, taking great joy in the proud twinkle in his eyes at my words. “How old are you now?”

“I turned sixteen last month,” Roscoe grinned and moved to sit next to me on the wall, handing my food to me so he wouldn’t sit on it. Before I could offer, he swiped a slice of bread from my plate and took a large bite out of it. “Mother and Father threw a small party for me. I’m sorry you missed it. I would have loved for you to have been there.”

“I’m sorry I missed it, too,” I apologised, unable to stop grinning. “But I think I might have something to make it up to you.”

“You got me a present?” He asked excitedly, swinging his legs back and forth, making him look much younger than his sixteen summers despite being nearly as tall as me now.

“Maybe.” My lips twitched higher at the corners. “But I haven’t got it on me right now so you’re going to have to wait a little longer.”

“Tell me what it is.”

“No, it’s a surprise,” I denied, a knowing expression on my face.

I knew Roscoe well enough to know I didn’t need to give him the present: a silver chain to go around the top of his trousers, a little something to make him stand out among his peers. Now that I had danged the bait in front of him, Roscoe would retrievethe gift himself, and I had no qualms about it. In fact, I left it out on my table this morning in an envelope with his name on it.

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