Page 30 of Adrift in Iceland
‘Leifur. I have not said anything.’ Peta had a twinkle in her eye, and she didn’t need to say what she was thinking for Leifur to know.
‘And how are you?’
Thankfully, Peta let it go and happily chatted about the latest goings on at her book club and how there had been a newcomer at the mahjong group who had suggested they ought to play bridge.
‘Who wants to get into a game that takes years to master at our age?’
‘I think you’ve got time to master bridge.’
‘I like mahjong, and at my age, knowing what you like and sticking it to the new man who wants to play bridge is one of life’s pleasures.’
Leifur laughed. ‘I think I’m already like that.’
Peta laughed too. ‘Oh, my love. You have always been so solid and reliable. Now that you’re starting this new adventure, try and let yourself have some fun. The responsibility is not yours alone anymore. Let yourself enjoy that.’
After he had several parcels of leftover food forced upon him, Leifur left his mother’s house and headed home. Despite the bad feeling between him and his brother, he felt lighter. It was good to know that Isak was doing well and managing to hold down a job successfully. Working for family was different, and Isak had taken advantage of that. Leifur worried that the lack of a work ethic might be a problem for him, and now that it seemed not to be, he couldn’t help but take his brother’s attitude when he’d worked onBrimfaxipersonally.
He sighed. Moving on from the fishing was one thing. Moving on from these deep-rooted feelings about his brother was harder. It was probably for the best that they were following different paths. Maybe in a few years their feelings about all of this might have softened, and they’d end up being closer. Friends, even. Leifur chuckled to himself. It was ridiculous. He and Isak were like chalk and cheese, and it was easier to live with if he accepted that.
His phone buzzed, and he pulled it out of his pocket and saw a message from Astrid. His stomach lurched slightly. It had been a long time since he’d had that kind of reaction to a text message.
Astrid: Do you want to meet for coffee tomorrow?
Leifur: Where and when?
Astrid: Te & Kaffi on Laugavegur 10am?
Leifur: *thumbs up emoji*
He’d thought about asking her what she wanted to meet about, but it didn’t matter. He just wanted to see her. Since yesterday, when she’d ducked out of his embrace as he began manoeuvring into port, he’d been thinking about her and looking forward to the next time he’d see her. Maybe he’d go so far as to admit he missed her. Was she feeling the same way, or maybe she thought it wasn’t a good idea to get involved with each other when they had to work together for the summer.
But his mother’s words rang in his ears. Maybe he should try to enjoy himself more. After all, the whale watching tours were hopefully going to be a much easier way to earn a living than fishing. Finally, he could take advantage of the fact he’d be working normal hours and could have a normal social life. And Peta was right. For the first time in his life, the responsibility wasn’t his. Jonas was his business partner and had more idea about the business side of things. Leifur had to remember that his role was captaining the boat and findingwhales. If he couldn’t sit back and enjoy that, there was something wrong with him. And if he couldn’t share a coffee with a beautiful woman who could very well only be here for the summer, there was something wrong with the world.
14
WHEN ASTRID GOT back to Gudrun’s after the puffin trip, the euphoria that she’d drifted home on disappeared when she remembered that tonight was the night she had to tell her sister she was moving out. She’d been putting it off, because they were finding their way again after not having seen much of each other over the past few years and Astrid didn’t want to put an end to that. She was going to have to phrase it very carefully.
‘Have you been out on the boat all day?’ Gudrun asked while they made dinner together in the kitchen. They’d settled on a risotto, and Gudrun was dutifully stirring the rice, adding a ladle of stock every so often while Astrid was grating some cheese to stir through it.
‘Yes. I thought we might just go out and back to see how the boat was running, but he took us to Andriðsey Island.’
‘To see the puffins! Oh, that’s amazing, As. I haven’t done that in years.’
Most of what Astrid remembered from the trip was the last half an hour or so when she’d given in and leant against Leifur’s chest while they headed back to Reykjavik harbour. It was one of the most romantic things that had ever happened to her. And so unexpected.
‘It was wonderful. I could have watched them for hours.’
‘And you got on okay with Leifur after the other day?’
‘He’s a really nice guy. It’s a big change for him, and he’s been worried about the boat. It was his father’s boat. As soon as he realised she still felt the same as she did before all the work, he relaxed. You could almost see it.’
‘Oh my god. You’re in love with him!’ Gudrun had stopped stirring and was staring wide-eyed at Astrid.
‘No, of course I’m not.’ She laughed, but she knew it wasn’t convincing. And Gudrun was very shrewd at reading this kind of behaviour.
‘Okay, maybe not in love with him yet, but something happened today, I can tell. Something that’s made you fall for him. Tell me I’m wrong.’ She pointed the wooden spoon at Astrid.
‘Don’t stop stirring. It’ll stick.’
