Page 78 of Adrift in Iceland
If he’d had to imagine what Astrid might say in his dreams, this was it. He missed her desperately, but it just made him feel worse knowing that she was still out of reach for him and they had no future. They couldn’t both spend years waiting until the time was right and nothing else was going to be in their way. If they wanted to be together, one of them had to want that enough to compromise, and it seemed obvious to him that neither of them was willing to take the risk.
‘I went there to say goodbye,’ he said. ‘I didn’t realise until tonight, but I have been waiting for you and I can’t do that anymore.’
He heard a muffled noise, then she said, ‘And you mustn’t. I’ll always love you, Leifur.’ And she ended the call before he could say anything else.
31
ASTRID HAD BEEN in Nuuk, the tiny capital of Greenland, for a week. Her new contract was with the government of Greenland, and she was part of a small team of scientists monitoring the narwhal population of West Greenland.
Until now, most of her work had been with humpbacks, which were more common below the Arctic Circle but the narwhals were a huge part of what drew her to come to Greenland for this job. They were otherworldly, with their long single tusk, like a unicorn for whales, and their numbers were decreasing. She was going to spend the winter studying them in the West Greenland polynya, an area of sea that historically doesn’t freeze over in the winter because of the warm sea currents in that area.
She had been given a tiny house on the edge of a fjord in the northern, old part of Nuuk. The view over the fjord was breathtaking, and Astrid felt a sense of peace as soon as she stepped into the house. It was an enormous relief, since she would be here over the worst of the winter, perhaps snowed in for days at a time. The plan was to collect data before the worst of the weather arrived, at which point she would review and write up the results. The winters in Iceland when she was a child had prepared her for what it would be like tosome extent, but the little town of Nuuk was not Reykjavik, so she was planning to accumulate what she could in the way of supplies over the next couple of months in readiness for the days when she might not venture out.
While the weather was still good, cold but bright, and with light evenings, she took advantage of where her new house was and sat outside watching the water as much as she could. It reminded her of Leifur’s house, although she’d already seen an abundance of marine life in her fjord; humpback, fin and minke whales had all made an appearance, but she was yet to spot a narwhal.
The tiny deck that faced the water had become her favourite place to sit, and she sipped a hot chocolate while she watched the calm water of the fjord for signs of life. As well as wildlife, there were boats that sailed past regularly. Not only fishing boats, but larger vessels like cruise boats and sailing ships. Today, an elegant sailing ship came into view, and she watched it as it cut through the glassy water at a leisurely pace, the ripples it created lapping at the rocks beneath her. It slowed right down, and she watched as a small wooden tender was lowered over the side of the boat, followed by someone climbing into it and setting off. Towards her.
She squinted her eyes, but at this distance it was hard to see the figure in the boat, but for some reason she needed to. She held her breath because this boat seemed as if it were heading deliberately in her direction rather than anywhere more logical, like the quay in town. As the boat came closer, she had a feeling about why it was coming this way, and once she could make out the figure sitting next to the tiller, she could hardly believe it. Leifur.
So many questions were running through her head as she watched him approach. The main one being, what was he doing here? But as he got closer and she could see his face,could see the smile despite it being hidden by his beard, her heart filled with the love she still held for him. It had taken everything she had not to head straight back to Iceland to see him when she got back from Costa Rica because she already knew then that she’d be coming to Greenland. It would have been so easy to go to Reykjavik and stay in her apartment for a month but she knew she and Leifur would have picked up where they left off and it wasn’t fair to either of them when she was only going to leave again.
The boat came close, but it wasn’t like Hafnarfjörður where the sea gave way to a shingle shoreline. Here, the coastline was rocky, and there was no way Leifur could disembark or even secure the boat to a mooring, but it was so wonderful to see him. That was almost enough.
‘Do you ever see whales in this fjord?’ he asked, killing the engine as he spoke.
‘Yes, it’s teeming with whales. Is that why you came?’
He tipped his head as if considering his answer, and Astrid wanted to laugh, but she waited, enjoying the anticipation.
‘I came to see if you’d be willing to welcome a weary sailor in for a bite to eat.’
‘I could rustle up some soup and bread.’
He laughed. ‘That’s just what I was hoping for.’
‘Head down the coast. I’ll meet you on the quay.’
He saluted her with a big grin, started the engine and puttered off towards town.
Astrid ran into the house, grabbed her coat and ran down to the centre of town where Leifur was securing the boat to a mooring post. He climbed out and, once he’d clocked her, started striding towards her, his arms ready to catch her as she flung herself into him.
There was no better feeling in the world than this.
‘You’re here,’ she said, pulling back to take a proper look at his face. ‘I’ve missed you so much. This is a terrible idea.’ Shelaughed and wiped a stray tear away.
‘It’s the best idea I’ve ever had.’
‘Did you sail that boat here?’
‘I hitched a ride. Navigating these waters isn’t for the fainthearted.’
She beamed at him, wondering if she’d ever be able to stop smiling. He came here just to see her and that was the most romantic thing that had ever happened to her. Even if it would break her heart all over again when he had to leave, it was already worth it.
‘Come on, let’s go home.’
Tempting as it was to fall into bed without a second thought, Astrid prepared soup and bread for them both, and they sat at the small table, gazing at each other as they ate. Then afterwards, she made tea, and they went out to sit on the deck.
‘This is incredible,’ said Leifur. ‘The most beautiful place.’
