Page 75 of Adrift in Iceland
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THE END OF the season was almost upon them. It was hard to imagine now how different things would be if Astrid had stayed because the time she spent on the boat once the tours were actually up and running was such a small part of the summer in the end.
Eva had taken the commentary job in her stride after a slightly rocky start. The biggest hurdle they’d had to overcome was finding a rhythm again once Isak joined them. Leifur knew Eva had found it hard to work with him to begin with, and he’d thought it was quickly going to become apparent that Isak wouldn’t work out. He’d seen it coming, the way he had been reluctant to learn from Eva on the last tour they did with Astrid, his only chance at having a proper handover from her. With him being older than Eva, she didn’t feel able to challenge him about his attitude, but when Jonas suggested to her that she ought to as the more senior staff member between the two of them, things changed. Eva grew in confidence, and Isak continued to arrive at work on time — something unprecedented in his days on the fishing boat, and he was fun, pleasant to be around and began to play a supporting role for both Eva and Leifur.
Jonas had called a staff meeting to discuss the plans for theend of the summer. After the tour on Tuesday evening, Leifur drove the three of them to Jonas’s house.
‘Do you think he’s got someone to take over from me?’ Eva said. She was due to leave for Canada in a few days and was worried about leaving them in the lurch.
‘You mustn’t worry about it,’ Isak said. ‘I’ve heard you say enough stuff about whales that I could take over from you.’
Eva laughed. ‘I’m still not sure you know the difference between a minke whale and a dolphin.’
‘That’s fair,’ said Isak. ‘But most of the guests don’t either. I reckon I can get away with it.’
Leifur smiled to himself. He and Isak were getting on better than they had in years. Perhaps because the jobs they had on the boat were different and Leifur didn’t need to be Isak’s boss. Isak, much like Astrid, had discovered that he enjoyed the customer-facing part of the job. He was a naturally charming and attentive host, which surprised him as much as it did Leifur.
Leifur pulled the truck up outside Jonas’s house, and the three of them climbed out.
‘Nice place,’ said Isak. He knocked on the door, and Jonas answered almost instantly.
‘Come in,’ he said. ‘Go through to the kitchen. We’ll eat and then have a proper chat.’
‘Hi,’ said Rachel, who was already in the kitchen. ‘I hope you all like curry.’
‘Lovely,’ said Eva, going over to the stove to have a look.
‘Beer for you guys?’ Jonas asked.
‘Or we have wine,’ said Rachel.
‘Wine’s great for me,’ said Eva, while Isak and Leifur opted for beer.
‘How’s the whale-watching?’ Rachel asked. ‘Is there any difference in what you see compared to the start of the summer?’
‘Not really,’ Eva said, looking at Leifur, who shook his head in agreement. ‘I think we could carry on, maybe reduce to two tours a day once the prime tourist season is over.’
‘What do you think about doing northern lights tours out in the bay?’ Jonas asked.
‘So we’re not waiting until after we’ve eaten for the business talk?’ Rachel said.
‘You know how it is,’ Jonas said, shrugging.
‘I should do by now.’
‘It’s a good idea,’ said Leifur. ‘Not many companies are doing that.’
‘And you don’t need me for those,’ said Eva.
‘We could put one of the team on board to do the northern lights talk,’ Jonas said.
‘I wouldn’t mind learning that,’ Isak said.
‘Actually, that would be great because sometimes we struggle to cover the existing northern lights tours if Brun or Siggi are away.’
‘You need to take the opportunity to have a break,’ said Rachel. ‘You’ve been working almost seven days a week.’
‘We’ve had time off for bad weather,’ Leifur pointed out.
