Page 88 of Viktor at Sea

“You know Gustav can cook, right?”

“Fish,” she snorted. “He’ll be cooking you fish. You won’t get a proper meal unless you dock somewhere.”

“Stop worrying and come join me,” I demanded, and when she didn’t, I stood up and grabbed my wife around the waist. Much to her disapproval, I guided her over the table and forced her to sit and eat with me.

This would be the last meal we would share for a while. If I were an overly emotional type of person, I would be bawling my eyes out right now. I wasn’t overly emotional, but I still found ithard to keep my spirits high and my eyes dry. If I got upset, then Astrid would also get upset, and that was the last thing I wanted before leaving for months on end.

Call me selfish, but I didn’t want the last memory of my wife to be her crying while I sailed away from her.

We were quiet as we ate, and after we finished, I just held her in my arms, inhaling her soft, cotton scent that I would miss so damn much. When she wasn’t looking earlier, I slipped two bars of her favourite soap into my bag so when I especially missed her, I would be able to smell her.

“I’ve got to make one stop before I head down to the shore,” I whispered into the crook of her neck, having a hard time imagining how I was going to let go of her.

If I couldn’t let go of her now, how was I supposed to do it later?

“Who are you going to see?” Astrid asked, running a gentle hand through my hair.

“It’s a secret,” I told her, my lips curling into a barely-there smile.

“You’re not going to tell me?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.” I smiled and pressed a soft kiss to her lips before standing up. “It shouldn’t take long. See you down at the shore?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she smiled sadly at me and watched as I walked out of the hut.

Everything I needed for the trip had already been taken down to the shore and loaded onto The Serpent. I only kept one bag on my person, but it wouldn’t be leaving Jorvik.

For the last time in quite some while, I headed down the path and took the shortcut to the Skau hut. A strong wave of nostalgia washed over me. The last time I took this path was to propose to Astrid.

“Viktor!” Katarina called out to me when she spotted me through the window. “What are you doing out there? Get inside and give me a hug!”

Not one to disappoint, especially not my sweet mother-in-law, I let myself into the hut through the back door. I immediately headed into the kitchen where Katarina appeared to have just finished making a pot of tea.

“I’m going to miss you, Viktor,” Katarina sighed as we pulled apart.

“I’m going to be counting down the days until you return as well, Viktor,” Daewon said from behind us, making himself known.

“I didn’t know you felt that way about me, Daewon,” I laughed and graciously accepted the cup of herbal tea from Katarina.

“I don’t,” he chuckled, “But I just know that Astrid will be all sad and mopey without you here. It’s going to drive us crazy.”

My face fell, but I knew he meant to lighten the mood.

“Daewon,” Katarina groaned, sending her husband a sharp look in a warning.

“No, Katarina, it’s fine. I’m actually here to talk to you both about Astrid.”

“Oh?” She sounded in surprise, taking a tentative sip of her tea.

“I want to leave this bag with you both. For Astrid.” I slipped the bag off my shoulder and laid it on the kitchen table. “I would have left it in the hut and told Astrid about it, but I know she won’t accept it so easily.”

“What is it?” Daewon asked, his tone curious.

“Enough to make sure Astrid is comfortable and will want for nothing while I’m away,” I told them.

Inside the bag was a multitude of smaller pouches, each of them containing fifty gold coins. It was a large part of my life’ssavings. Astrid could spend three coins a day for six months, and it would only be scratching the surface, but I didn’t want my wife to want anything while I was away. As her husband, it was my duty to look after her. Even when I wasn’t around.

“There’s no need for this, Viktor. Astrid has her wages from her job at the school,” Katarina said as she eyed the bag. “And if it’s not enough, there’s always us.”

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