Page 11 of Snug in Iceland
They had met when Rachel was on a work night out, quite a rare occurrence for Snug, but Jess had just started working there so they were doing some team bonding. Adam was in what was now their favourite bar having a drink with his friend, Jim. It was relatively quiet, being a weeknight, and the two of them had started exchanging pleasantries while they were stood at the bar together waiting to be served. After that, they both went back to their own evenings but kept stealing looks at each other. Adam always told her that he had loved her sparkly eyes and quirky dress sense; she was wearing an Orla Kiely dress and a very well-worn pair of black Doc Martens. Her dark brown hair was cut in a choppy bob with a big fringe, like Claudia Winkleman’s.
Adam was wearing a suit, that’s all, but goodness he looked great in a suit. That effect hadn’t worn off for Rachel even though she saw him wearing one every day now. He also wore the same glasses then that he did now; very cute, kind of old-fashioned, brown tortoiseshell rim glasses which made him look gorgeous.
On that first night, Rachel had left before Adam and Jim but as she was leaving, Adam had come over to her and asked if she’d like to meet him there for a drink the following night. She said yes, and the next night made sure to be late so that he would definitely be there first – the first and last time that had happened. He was sat at the bar, turned towards the door and when he looked at her and grinned as soon as she walked in, Rachel’s legs went to jelly, she fancied him so much. She couldn’t believe that he was so attractive and he liked her. They talked and drank for what felt like hours and neither of them wanted the evening to end. Rachel thought at that moment that he was The One.
She still thought he was probably The One. Mainly because she couldn’t imagine being with anyone else and although they were a little bit out of sync at the moment, they were meant to be together. Any thoughts that his grand gesture with the Icebar was linked to a guilty conscience over what Anna may have seen were pushed aside.
7
THE NIGHT AT the Icebar had turned out to be their last together before she left. Adam’s American clients had insisted that he spend the evening with them at their hotel the following night, which was the night before her flight, and apparently, there was nothing he could do about it.
“I have explained to them, Rach, but with the deal about to be signed, they’re insisting.”
That had been during his flying visit to the loft after spending the whole of the next day at work, even though it was Saturday. He only stayed long enough to change his suit for something more casual and to grab his overnight bag.
“I’m so sorry. I wanted our last night together to be special.”
“Don’t worry, it’s fine,” she heard herself saying. “Last night was special enough to last me for ages.” She leant up to kiss him and received a peck in return.
“Love you, Rach. See you in a couple of weeks.” Another peck and he was gone.
*
Rachel decided that she had time for a quick cup of tea before the taxi was due to pick her up. The loft was too quiet and she was too excited to do anything while she waited, she just wanted to be on her way. Her case was ready by the front door and she was 'light-layered' to the hilt to cope with the transition between the relatively mild London winter and the proper wintry weather she was expecting in Reykjavik.
It had been such a palaver trying to pack and it had become immediately clear to Rachel that she would either have to wear the snow boots on the plane or forfeit taking any other footwear with her because they took up half the case on their own. She was planning to wear her new coat but even so, she wanted to take a couple of bulky sweaters and at least two pairs of jeans and the boots were compromising that. So, in the end, the snow boots had to be worn and right now, in the mild winter weather of London, Rachel felt like a twit.
After a couple of slurps of tea, the taxi arrived and Rachel immediately went from being excited to nervous as soon as the intercom rang. She buzzed the driver up and opened the door ready.
"Alright, love?” he panted as he appeared at the top of the stairs, “I'll get this case in the cab." He had already grabbed it and was off before she could answer.
"Great, thanks, I won't be a minute," she called after him, putting on her gorgeous plum-coloured coat, then instantly realising that she would be too hot with a coat on, she took it off again and tried to squash it down so she could stick it through the handles of her holdall.
She took a last look at the loft as she mentally checked off her 'don't forget' list, and then shut the door.
*
The flight to Reykjavik was only two and a half hours. Although it was just 3 pm when they landed it was dark outside and, they had been informed by the captain, very cold.
Rachel had decided to book a visit to the Blue Lagoon as part of the transfer to her hotel. It had felt like a risky extravagance when she’d booked it but now she was glad she had because she wasn’t tired and was desperate to see something of the country before she had to start working. It also really appealed to her to go there in the dark. There was a man from the tour company waiting in the arrivals hall with a clipboard.
"Hi, I'm Rachel Richards, I’ve booked a Blue Lagoon visit?”
He had a friendly smile and was dressed in a bright red down coat which was open enough to reveal a traditional Icelandic knitted sweater that looked cosy. He was quite tall, taller than Rachel but not as tall as Adam, she noted, slim with blue eyes, short blonde tousled hair and not quite a beard, but a few days of stubble.
"Welcome to Iceland, Rachel. I am Jonas, I’ll be the guide for your visit to the Blue Lagoon today. Our minibus is just outside,” he gestured towards the revolving doors, “Olafur will help you load your bags and we will be off as soon as we have everyone.” He smiled at her and she felt herself unexpectedly blush.
“Thanks, Jonas,” said Rachel and he smiled and nodded in an ‘at your service’ kind of way.
Rachel pulled on her coat and hat, put her hood up and prepared for the chill. It was very cold. The iciness hit her as soon as she walked outside, just like when you fly to a hot country and are hit by the warmth as you leave the airport but the other way around. It was a stark contrast to London where it had been unseasonably mild when she left, but the air was dry and clean-feeling and she felt instinctively good about Iceland straight away.
The drive to the Blue Lagoon took about twenty minutes. Jonas gave a chatty introduction to Iceland as they travelled and pointed out the very few sights that could be seen in the unusual twilight of the afternoon.
Aside from the fact that it was already dark, the path to the Blue Lagoon was bordered by huge boulders so there was no hint of what to expect from the outside at all. They all followed Jonas inside and waited while he spoke to the receptionist, then they were called forward individually and given a towel and locker key.
The changing rooms were very swanky, like a high-end spa but absolutely vast. There were some signs which alluded to the fact that you should shower naked before you went in and that you should drench your hair in conditioner and leave it in because of the silica in the water. Rachel was dubious about the showering requirements but did take notice of the hair advice.
Standing at the door and seeing the few metres of icy coldness that she’d need to cross to get to the pool made her wish that she’d splashed out the extra and hired a robe but instead, she braced herself and opened the door. It was instantly so completely freezing cold that her planned nonchalant walk to the steps of the pool turned into a flailing run. She immersed herself as quickly as she could, ducking her shoulders under the strange milky-blue water which immediately warmed and relaxed her. She could barely see through the steam clouds and the darkness so she moved around the edge of the pool then settled on an underwater ledge and lay her head back, looking at the darkening sky.
