Page 61 of Ignited in Iceland
‘Maybe. Travelling is how I felt like myself again after what happened with Hekla. I could leave all of that behind and pretend it didn’t exist. Then, when I wished I had made better decisions about being a father, it became a way to escape the constant reminder of what a failure I had been to my daughter. Because the memories are everywhere. Me and Hekla… we’re everywhere.’
‘I know. I remember,’ Brun said with a smirk.
‘Iris makes me forget all of that stuff. It’s like I’m not that person when I’m with her. I haven’t booked my next trip, or even thought about where I want to go.’
‘That says a lot.’
‘And I was so busy focusing on what I thought I wanted, I didn’t even realise that.’
‘Don’t be too hard on yourself. Being in love changes you, but you’re not going to change overnight. It is a learning curve for you both, to learn what each other wants and how you work your lives together.’
‘Assuming she feels the same.’
‘Yes. That helps.’ Brun grinned and clapped Siggi on the shoulder. ‘You will work it out.’
‘I have to hope she is willing to speak to me.’
‘She will.’
Siggi didn’t share his friend’s certainty. But he was willing to wait. Whatever it took. He was beginning to understand what Brun was saying. He had to take a moment to think about what he really wanted. This wasn’t something he could coast through. If he was serious about Iris, he had to think about what that looked like for him.
He picked up the list of clients for his trip that evening, along with the keys to the minibus, and headed home. The aurora forecast was good, but the weather forecast was not. It seemed likely it would be postponed. He ought to accept that he wouldn’t see Iris tonight and instead take advantage of the chance to clear his head. Going back to his empty flat was going to lead to him over-thinking, waiting, and watching his phone. He didn’t want to cave in and contact her. The ball was in her court and he had to leave it to her to contact him on her own terms. By the time Iris messaged him, if she ever did, he needed to have worked out what he wanted. And the only way he knew to empty his mind enough to allow him to see clearly was to surf.
‘If the tour is cancelled tonight, I think I’m going to camp out at Sandvik,’ he said to Brun, following the number one rule of telling someone where he was going. ‘Surfing might help.’
‘Good idea,’ Brun said, smiling and shaking his head. ‘I am glad you are not inviting me. Camping and surfing in March is crazy.’
‘That’s what makes it fun,’ Siggi said, looking at Brun as if he didn’t know what he was missing.
Siggi hadn’t surfed since Hawaii, and he hadn’t surfed in Iceland for around a year. He dug his thick winter wetsuit out of the cupboard. Just the smell of it was enough to give him a taste of the buzz he’d get when he stepped into the freezing surf. He packed up other things he’d need like towels, neoprene boots and gloves and plenty of warm layers to dress in afterwards. Everything else he needed, like his surfboard, Jonas let him keep at the company’s storage unit. He planned to wild-camp near the coast. The temperatures were still dropping to almost freezing overnight, but with the right equipment, which he had, he’d be fine. And he’d be ready to surf at sunrise.
He packed everything into a large rucksack and put it into the boot of his jeep before he went to pick up the rest of his things from the unit. This impromptu camping trip was exactly what he needed to clear his head and get some perspective.
20
IRIS BEGAN WORK on her report, the note from Siggi safely out of sight and out of mind. For now. Hopefully by focusing on work, when she did take a breath to think about everything, the right answer would present itself. She knew she ought to give him the chance to explain, as he’d asked. But she needed to have built some defences back before she could do that. If he came to her now, she’d break again. The memory of it all was too fresh and even though he might be sorry about what happened, it didn’t necessarily mean that he didn’t still believe the things he’d said.
She logged into the portal Bjarkey had set up for her so that she could get access to the new data they were logging from the extra seismometers and checked her own seismometer data as well. The data from all the units was showing heightened activity; more frequency of events, closer together. It didn’t tally with what the traditional data was suggesting, but that was the whole point; her own data should be more accurate. But although she was confident in her data, it was as yet unproven, which was exactly why she was there. She needed to go back to Hraunvik to see for herself.
‘Hi Bjarkey.’
‘Iris, I was about to call you. I have been looking at your data feed. It looks as if something may be starting.’
‘I thought the same.’
‘We should go to Hraunvik. I have spoken to Emil, and he wants us to take two others from the team. Also, a team from the civil defence department will meet us there. We will collect you in half an hour.’
Iris felt butterflies in her stomach. This was it. All her work was about to come to fruition. If they could see evidence that her data was flagging up that something was happening ahead of it being picked up by the traditional methods, that was what she’d been waiting for.
All thoughts of Siggi vanished as she focused entirely on gathering her things together. If she’d listened to Jay, she’d be at the airport now and two years of work and research would have been wasted. Whatever happened, she knew she was leaving British Geology Labs. This was proof that Jay was wrong, and no one there seemed to see that what he was doing was undermining everything they were working for.
Half an hour later, she was ready and waiting outside the hotel. The vehicle that pulled up was a massive all-terrain vehicle with huge tyres and a high wheelbase.
‘Iris! Climb in the back!’ Bjarkey called out of the window.
She threw her stuff in the footwell and climbed in next to a younger man, who smiled and introduced himself with a firm handshake as Kári.
‘And this is Aron,’ Bjarkey said, indicating the driver. He said hello and waved, catching Iris’s eye in the rearview mirror.
