Page 68 of Secret Nights and Northern Lights
“They have to monitor him for bacterial infections. Whatever sea creature it was ripped the flesh right off his—”
“Fridrik!” Cassandra cuts in. “We should get this tour started. I’ll take over with our guests from here.”
Fridrik shrugs again, but before he shuffles off to find someone else to overtly terrify, he points at me and says, “See, nowthisis a tour where we don’t expect you to drive.”
“Got it,” I say, nodding. “Thanks.” Once he’s gone, I take the seat next to Ben and rub soothing circles between his shoulder blades.
“Sorry about him,” Cassandra says. “His father never learned the art of subtlety, either. That’s why I do all the talking on our tours.”
“That’s a fantastic business decision,” Ben says from his slumped-over position.
A few minutes later the boat pulls away from the harbor, and Cassandra delves into her spiel on the types of whales we may see on today’s tour: humpbacks, orcas, pilots, and, although rare, the blue whale has been spotted from time to time in the bay. Which I must admit scares me a little, too. I’ve seen the YouTube clips on how massive blue whales are, even compared to an entire boat full of people. I’m not sure I want acloseencounter. An orca would be nice though. When I was young, I went through an embarrassingly long period where I was obsessed withFreeWillyand convinced myself I wanted to be a traveling marine biologist. Who knows if that’s even a thing.
The first half of the tour is uneventful, and Cassandra and I chat about her move from America to Iceland five years ago. She tells me how she burnt out working a job in health care, threw caution to the wind, and moved to Iceland on a whim because it’s somewhere she’d always wanted to visit. As someone who understands a strong sense of wanderlust but can’t imagine being that fearless, I am endlessly fascinated by her story.
While she talks, Ben manages to sit up and listen, and while he certainly doesn’t look great, he looks like he might survive, which is a vast improvement.
Off in the distance, movement catches my eye. “Hey, look!”
Ben and Cassandra turn to follow the direction of my finger, pointed out over the water where multiple sleek black fins curve over the surface and then roll back under.
“Pilot whales,” Cassandra announces, rising from her seated position to get a better view. “They look very similar to dolphins—only larger—and travel in groups. You two are lucky, we don’t always get to see these!”
A soft groan sounds from Ben’s throat, low enough only I can hear, communicating that he’s not feeling particularlyluckyabout this new development. But as a professional, he now has a job to do, and he pulls his camera from his bag, props his elbows on the side of the boat for stability, and starts snapping pictures of the group of whales off in the distance.
“Your partner okay there?” Cassandra asks me quietly as we both watch him work.
“Yeah, he’ll be fine. Don’t worry,” I assure her. “Seasick or not, his photos will be incredible. Ben’s amazing at what he does. I don’t know if you’ve seen any of his work, but if you have, then you probably already know how stunning his photos are. I’m in awe of his talent sometimes, and—”
I stop talking when I look over and see a knowing grin stretching Cassandra’s lips.
“I’ll shut up now,” I say, blushing.
Her loud, bubbly laugh fills the open air around us. “It’s okay. I get it.” She shoots a pointed look to the enclosed wheelhouse where Fridrik steers the ship with a solemn expression that suggests this boat could go down at any moment.
“Really?” I question. “You two seem like complete opposites.”
“Oh, we are. And he doesn’t know how I feel. He’s not the best at picking up on social cues.”
“You don’t say,” I tease.
We continue chatting while Ben swaps out his lens, then focuses his camera on the mountain peaks across the bay. Eventually, Fridrik turns us back in the direction of the harbor. We don’t see any more whales on our excursion, which, for Ben’s sake, is probably best. But I am slightly disappointed I didn’t see Willy.
We pull up to the dock a little later, and I stay on board to thank Cassandra for her time and expertise while Ben makes a beeline for solid ground. From the wheelhouse, Fridrik shouts down at us to watch our step so we don’t slip and concuss ourselves on the solid oak ship.
The absolute absurdity of the moment makes me laugh, and for a brief second, I even forget about Calvin’s call this morning.
Chapter 20
Tip #15 when visiting Iceland:If a cloud appears to be shape-shifting, hold up a camera and you might get the surprise of a lifetime.
With Ben nowhere close to a hundred percent, we walk the town and explore a few historical sites before grabbing lunch at a restaurant overlooking the harbor. We talk about the town and about work and definitely about Fridrik, but not about last night, and it leaves me wondering if maybe Ben’s regretting what happened between us.
I know that no matter what happens going forward, this trip will live forever embedded deep in my bones. There will be no possible way for me not to associate Ben with travel, and travel with Ben, and as my two favorite things in life, how will I ever recover if this all goes up in flames and I lose them both?
I don’t know what changed since this morning when we woke up entangled in each other’s arms, but the peace and certainty Ifelt then is slipping away. Perhaps it’s my fault. Perhaps I’m letting Calvin’s phone call get to me, or maybe Ben can sense that on some level I’m not being completely honest with him. Perhaps it’s that, despite being in love with him again, I still don’t know if I can truly forgive Ben for what he did to me all those years ago, and that’s something I’m going to have to figure out for myself once and for all before things become even more involved.
My worries must wait, however, because once we leave Húsavík in the early afternoon, our itinerary is still packed full with trips to Víti crater and Grjótagjá cave and Goðafoss waterfall.
