Page 15 of Ignited in Iceland
‘We don’t know yet. I’m talking hypothetically.’
‘But you wouldn’t be here if nothing was happening.’ It wasn’t a question.
‘There’s time. You know people in Hraunvik?’
He nodded. ‘Some distant family.’ Now, as he stared through the windscreen, he looked serious and thoughtful. ‘Iceland is a small country. We are all family somehow.’
‘I understand. You know the IMO is incredible. They are already across it. I’m hardly adding to what they already know.’
‘We understand what it is to live in Iceland. The land of ice and fire. It is in our bones.’
‘But it’s different when it threatens you so directly.’
Siggi turned to look at Iris and gave her a small nod.
‘I’ve been to Hawaii once before. In 2018. Two thousand people lost their homes. I know how hard it was for those people to leave, even though they knew they lived next to one of the world’s most active volcanoes.’
‘It is true,’ he said ruefully. ‘Every day we take people to see these places where the planet is showing us what is beneath the surface, and I guess we forget what that could do.’
It had begun to rain. Iris could imagine how cold that would be, hitting her face, assisted by a keen wind.
As if he was reading her mind, Siggi said, ‘I will take you to the hotel.’
‘Oh, there’s no need. It’s not far from the office.’ Her default English setting of not wanting to put anyone out had kicked in, almost against her will. She hoped Siggi would protest because now she had warmed up, all she wanted to do was dive straight from the jeep into the cosiest bed in the world that was waiting in her hotel room.
‘You would like to walk in this?’ The rain had morphed into sleet.
‘I would have walked in the rain, but now it’s turned into a snowstorm I’d be very grateful for a lift to the hotel.’
‘This is not a snowstorm by Icelandic standards, but I can understand that for an English person it looks extreme,’ he teased.
‘In the UK, this kind of weather would have people panicking about whether they’d make it home from work. I’m not joking,’ she added when Siggi laughed.
‘There is not much weather that would make us think that,’ he said.
‘What’s the worst snowstorm you’ve ever seen?’
‘Aside from this one,’ he said, rubbing his stubbly chin. ‘I would have to say seven years ago. It was the most snow ever recorded in Reykjavik. It was half a metre deep everywhere, and deeper where the snow had drifted. We had to cancel all our tours for a week because no one could leave their houses. Luckily, February is not a busy month for us. I had just come back from spending Christmas in Australia. Bad timing for me.’
‘You wouldn’t have wanted to miss that, surely? I bet it was amazing.’
‘I think the magic of weather like that is only seen by people who do not have it as often as we do.’
‘Be careful what you wish for.’
‘Exactly.’
Siggi pulled up outside Iris’s hotel.
‘Thanks so much for today.’
‘The offer is still there for tomorrow.’
‘You’re not working?’
He shook his head, picked up his phone and handed it to Iris. ‘Put your number in here and I will message you when I get home. Call me tomorrow if you would like me to take you.’
‘Thank you,’ she said again, passing the phone back. ‘Bye.’
