Page 4 of Adrift in Iceland
‘Only joking,’ Gudrun said, laughing. ‘You have to stay with us. You’ll be desperate to leave Iceland again if you have to live at home.’
Astrid laughed. ‘Thank you. If you’re sure you don’t mind?’
‘Of course I don’t mind. I can’t wait to see you! When are you coming?’
‘This weekend.’ Astrid braced herself.
‘And you’re asking me now? This is so typical, Astrid. You are leaving Norway after four years, and you are telling me now. Five days before.’
‘I don’t know what I’m doing next. I was waiting to see if anything came up here.’
Gudrun harrumphed in reply. ‘It’s lucky for you that I’m such a forgiving sister. So what are you going to do?’
‘I’m still looking. I’ll sort something out. I have enough saved to see me through a couple of months.’
‘Hang on,’ said Gudrun, and put her finger over the microphone.
Astrid could hear muffled talking. She was probably speaking to Olafur.
‘It’s your lucky day. Olafur thinks they could use a marine mammal expert at Iceland Adventures.’
‘It’s not certain yet,’ Olafur said in the background. ‘The boat isn’t finished yet, and I’ll need to ask Jonas.’
‘It’s okay,’ Astrid said. ‘Don’t make him ask Jonas.’ Astrid knew Jonas and knew he was a soft touch who would probably give her a job even if he didn’t need anyone, especially if Olafur asked him.
‘He doesn’t mind. Or you can work in the shop with me.We’re coming up to the busy time. I always need extra staff.’
‘Honestly. It’s really kind of you, Gudrun, but I’m not ready to go straight into anything. I’m happy to use the time to have a break. Catch up with all of you.’
‘Okay. You’re right. You need a break. I know you, Astrid. You will have bottled up all your feelings about your contract ending. You love that job,’ she said gently. ‘It will be difficult to leave, and it’ll take you some time to come to terms with it.’
Astrid sniffed and blinked away some tears. Trust her little sister to put into words the feelings she couldn’t acknowledge herself.
‘Yes,’ she said, trying not to give away the fact that she was barely holding it together now. ‘So, see you next week.’
‘Text me your flight details and we’ll book a transfer for you.’
Olafur’s employer, Iceland Adventures, ran transfers to and from the airport, usually combining it with a visit to the Blue Lagoon. ‘Thanks. I’ll skip the Blue Lagoon though.’
Gudrun laughed. ‘Love you, As.’
‘Love you.’
Astrid hung up and gazed out of the window at the twinkling lights over the water. Leaving Tromsø was hard because she wasn’t leaving on her terms. And all the harder because she hadn’t let herself think about it. Gudrun was right, she hadn’t come to terms with it. Calling her sister was always going to be the point at which she’d be forced to admit to herself that Tromsø was over. That the AMMC wouldn’t change its mind at the eleventh hour and tell her there had been a mistake and that she could stay after all. It was ridiculous to think that was ever going to happen. She had to get her head around the fact that she was going back to Iceland.
3
ASTRID ARRIVED AT Keflavik airport, waited for her two enormous suitcases, which held all her worldly possessions, and then headed out to the arrivals hall to find the Iceland Adventures transfer. When she saw the big sign that declared “Exit to Iceland”, her heart leapt. She was home.
She scanned the crowd of people, reading the signs some of them were holding until her eyes settled on the one she was looking for. The person holding it was her sister’s partner, Olafur. He broke into a grin when he spotted her, and she did the same. It had been a couple of years since she’d been back, and it was good to see him.
‘Astrid! Good to see you,’ he said, enveloping her in a bear hug.
‘You too. I didn’t think it would be you.’
He shrugged. ‘It’s not every day your almost sister-in-law comes to visit. But it was my shift anyway.’
‘You’re making me feel so special.’
